Police say woman tried to kidnap toddler in Kirkland park

KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Police arrested a 33-year-old woman who they said snatched a toddler from his grandmother at Bridle Trails State Park in Kirkland in a bid to kidnap the boy Thursday.

Police said that just before noon Thursday, a mother was walking a trail with her 2 1/2-year-old son, her 2-month-old baby and their grandmother. The grandmother was walking with the toddler when a woman came up behind her and hit her in the back of the head and ran off with the boy.

The grandmother and mother caught up to the woman and a scuffle ensued, police said, and the mother was able to get her son back.

Minutes later, a Kirkland police officer on routine patrol entered the parking lot and saw the mother yelling that her child had been taken.  At that time, the grandmother was in their locked car with the two children, when the suspect reappeared from a wooded area, police said.

The officer took the woman into custody.

"The female suspect is 33 years old and known to police by prior contacts," Kirkland police said in a news release. "She may be suffering from mental illness and is currently living out of her vehicle. The victims were not harmed other than some abrasions to the grandmother's head. ...The investigation is ongoing with felony charges to follow."