Police: Boy, 12, fights off kidnapper south of Everett

Published 5:25 pm Tuesday, August 4, 2020

EVERETT — A 44-year-old man was arrested for investigation of attempted kidnapping Tuesday after a 12-year-old boy told authorities someone tried to grab him.

The incident was reported around 8:30 a.m. in the 12100 block of 4th Ave. W, south of Everett, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

The boy was running through an apartment complex when the suspect emerged from nearby woods and tried to grab him, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The suspect reportedly was wearing a dark hoodie and a mask.

The boy stomped on the suspect’s foot and elbowed him to escape, the sheriff’s office said. The child was then able to run into the office of the apartment complex. He alerted staff, who called 911.

Sheriff’s deputies searched the area and found a tent with the suspect sitting inside. He was wearing a hat with fake hair attached, a black mask, a black zip-up jacket and a black hooded sweatshirt. The suspect “was in possession of a unicorn pillow and multiple dolls with genitalia drawn on them,” according to the news release.

The suspect was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.