Stepfather foils attempted kidnapping of 5-year-old daughter snatched from her bed

SANDY, Utah -- A stepfather woke up to a noise in the family house before dawn Friday and discovered that someone had snatched his 5-year-old daughter from her bed and was carrying her off in his arms, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger told the newspaper that the stepfather looked out his front door and saw the man carrying his child across the lawn and away from the home. Carriger said the stepdad screamed, "What are you doing? That's my daughter,  you're not taking her!"

The man dropped the girl and ran off. She was unharmed.

Police officers and K-9 units later found the 48-year-old suspect hiding in a nearby house after the resident ran out, screaming there was a stranger in her home. He was arrested.

Carriger said the family did not know the suspect and added that he apparently had been roaming the neighborhood, looking for unlocked doors.

Miles Holman, a lawyer for the family, told the Salt Lake Tribune that it was lucky the parents woke up in time to stop the kidnapping. "I think this was a small miracle -- maybe a large miracle."