Cops in one Florida town have arrested a man they say had been patrolling a park, luring children into his car, and driving off with them. But in an odd twist on the standard abduction story, police say David Richard Kyle, the man who kidnapped a 9-year-old boy from the park, drove him to his house, only to turn around and drive the kid back, releasing him.
Who would have thought a kidnapper's conscience could save a little boy?
As a matter of fact, it may have saved countless kids.
The one 9-year-old was allegedly picked up at the park and driven to Kyle's home, but when Kyle went in, the child said he stayed in the car. Then he was taken back, unharmed.
Kyle was arrested during a traffic stop after folks reported a man at the park picking up kids. Police went to his house, where they said they found a chilling bagpacked with duct tape, rope, and scissors.
Sounds like the tools of a kidnapper doesn't it? Like a guy who was going to do much worse than drive a kid to his house, then drive him back?
That's what police thought too. They looked into Kyle's background and found out he'd been arrested for kidnapping and luring charges in the '70s and '80s, and when they interviewed him, he allegedly admitted he's been having urges to kidnap kids of late. He's suspected of taking at least three young victims recently, all boys between 9 and 12 years old.
Something made the alleged kidnapper turn around, save the little boy, but the chances that it would happen again are slim to none. So often we see criminals build up. It starts with something small, say luring a kid to your car and taking him for a ride, then goes from there.
It's like a little child learning to walk. Each time they get away with it, they're emboldened to take it a step further. The next time, it's another step and then another step and so on.
Who knows how many kids would have been hurt if it hadn't stopped here and now.
But it did stop. Kyle is in jail on $7.5 million bail, and he's facing multiple felonies.
What do you think of his change of heart?
Image via Lake County Sheriff's Office