Local

Deputies: 12-year-old retracts story about attempted kidnapping

EVERETT, Wash. — UPDATE: A 12-year-old told deputies on Thursday that he made up the story about an attempted kidnapping Tuesday in Everett.

The boy had reported that the incident happened at about 8:30 a.m. in the 12100 block of Fourth Avenue West, where he was running through an apartment complex when a man came out of a wooded area and tried to grab him.

The boy had told officers he stomped on the man’s foot, elbowed him to escape and ran to the apartment complex’s office and told staff, who then called 911.

Deputies said the boy reported Thursday that he was in the apartment complex parking lot and heard noises from the woods, which he reportedly thought might have been animals. He then walked into the woods and found a 44-year-old man’s tent.

The boy said he opened up the tent and saw the man sleeping with a pillow. He saw dolls inside the tent and became fearful, thinking he would get in trouble for being back there and made up the alleged attack, deputies said.


ORIGINAL STORY: A 44-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning after an attempted kidnapping at a South Everett apartment complex.

The incident happened at about 8:30 a.m. in the 12100 block of Fourth Avenue West.

Investigators said a 12-year-old boy was running through an apartment complex when the man came out of a wooded area and tried to grab the boy.

The boy stomped on the man’s foot, elbowed him and escaped.

Deputies said the boy ran to the apartment complex’s office and told the staff, who then called 911.

After deputies arrived, they searched the area for the man. And in the nearby woods, they found him sitting inside a tent.

“He was wearing a hat with fake hair attached, a black mask, a black zip-up jacket and a black hooded sweatshirt overtop,” deputies said. “At the time of the arrest, the 44 -year-old suspect was in possession of a unicorn pillow and multiple dolls with genitalia drawn on them.”

He was arrested without incident and booked into the Snohomish County Jail for attempted kidnapping.

Detectives are continuing to investigate this incident.

Deputies are asking anyone who was in the area Tuesday morning and witnessed the incident to call the sheriff’s office tip line at 425-388-3845.