Multiple bystanders at a family waterfront park in Portland helped a mother save her 7-year-old girl from being kidnapped by a naked man. With their combined effort, they were able to chase away the alleged abductor, later identified as 31-year-old Daniel C. Vasey by the Portland Police. However, many are concerned about how long it took officers to respond to the incident, which took place on Saturday, July 11.
Police could not respond immediately to 911 calls about the suspect
An investigation by officers revealed the suspect attempted to kidnap the girl at around 7:03 p.m. at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, according to a statement from Portland Police.
The naked man tried to yank the girl by the arm, but the mother grabbed her child’s other arm and held tight. The fight over the girl “was so significant that she was lifted off the ground.”
That’s when bystanders at the park immediately stepped in to help the mother. At least five people, which included the child’s father, “jumped in, punching, slapping, and pulling on the suspect.” That made the man release the girl, with one bystander using an irritant spray to keep him away.
By the time police arrived on the scene, they found the suspect treading water at the nearby Willamette River and promptly arrested him.
The girl only suffered minor injuries and was treated for scratches by paramedics on the scene.
Police dispatchers had received several calls concerning the suspect before his kidnapping attempt. A call received at 6:51 p.m. reported a man without clothes running around the Southwest Naito Parkway. Then about five minutes later, another caller said the man was trying to punch them in the head.
However, every officer in Central Precinct was busy at the time responding to other calls, and it wasn’t until the call over the attempted kidnapping was made that officers from North Precinct were dispatched to the scene.
Emilio Zamora, a worker at a bike rental stand, told KATU that he spotted the suspect and called 911. “I saw a man walk just right past the fountain completely naked,” he said. “So, I got on the phone with police and within five minutes of me calling the cops, the man had snatched this little girl.”
Zamora was frustrated he “was in the queue” and had to wait “for 30 minutes at least.”
Leah Stout, who was visiting the park on the weekend, was appalled at the slow response time. “That’s so unacceptable, because imagine if [the suspect] had a vehicle. Imagine he was working with another person. That child could have been gone and then what?”
Vasey has been charged with attempted kidnapping, custodial interference, assault, and harassment.
