California bus driver called "hero" for saving abducted child
MILPITAS, Calif. -- A bus driver is being hailed a hero for recognizing a kidnapped child and helping police catch his alleged abductor, reports CBS San Francisco.
The Milpitas, Calif., Police Department said the three-year-old boy was at the library with his mother when he wandered off sometime after 10:30 a.m. on June 5. Lt. Raj Maharaj said the mother only turned her back for a moment and the boy wandered off.
Witnesses said that the boy was seen being led away by a man in his 20s who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and appeared to be homeless. Police sent out an alert and began a search - soon after, they received word from bus driver Tim Watson, who believed the suspect and the boy were on his bus headed to the Fremont train station.
Watson realized the boy and man he was with matched the descriptions from the police alert -- which noted the boy's red shoes and plaid shorts -- so he devised ruse to get a closer look, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
He said he stopped the bus, announced that he was looking for a missing green backpack and casually glanced at the boy, confirming he was wearing red shoes and plaid shorts.
Police officers were waiting when the bus arrived.
"The bus driver is a hero. An absolute hero," said Milpitas Police Chief Steve Pangelinan. "And I credit the Valley Transit Authority for receiving information from us and quickly disseminating that to their drivers in the field."
The suspect was identified as 23-year-old Alfonso David Edington of Pittsburg, Calif. He was faces one count of kidnapping and will be arraigned Monday, according to Militpas Sgt. Bryan Hinkley.
A police officer had to pry the boy away from Edington during a brief struggle with officers, according to Milpitas Police.
The child was reunited with his parents at the Milpitas Police Department, police said.