A 20-year-old Marine remains in custody after police in Washington state said he tried to grab a 12-year-old girl off the street this week while she was walking home.
The suspect, Timothy Caldwell, was in court on Thursday on charges of second-degree attempted kidnapping and assault. The court set his bail at $350,000.
The girl, a seventh-grader, told Kitsap County sheriff’s deputies that she had disembarked from the school bus on Monday and was walking home when she noticed a man standing near a bush. According to Seattle-area media reports, he approached the girl and asked for directions.
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Police said the girl continued walking home when the man reportedly grabbed her and said she needed to go with him, according to Fox13. She managed to break free, then punched him in the shoulder and ran.
“After she escaped, the girl turned around and took a photograph of the man before calling her mother while running home,” Seattle’s KING-TV reported. “The photograph later became a key piece of evidence in identifying the suspect.”
According to court documents, the girl’s father shared the image on Facebook. He later received a message from someone claiming the suspect lived in an apartment in Silverdale, 20 miles west of Seattle.
On Thursday, sheriff’s deputies arrested Mr. Caldwell at the apartment. Detectives said he had a distinctive haircut that matched the girl’s photograph, including a V-shaped pattern on the back of his head, according to KING-TV.
The sheriff’s office told reporters that Mr. Caldwell was an active-duty Marine. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service was notified about the arrest, according to reports.
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