Bystanders thwart Michigan man's attempts to kidnap girls in 2 separate incidents, authorities say
Two bystanders in Michigan helped a pair of girls escape when a man tried to force them into his car in broad daylight in separate attempted kidnappings, authorities said.
Two bystanders in Michigan helped a pair of girls escape when a man tried to force them into his car in broad daylight in separate attempted kidnappings, authorities said.
The incidents occurred just an hour apart on Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities. In both cases, a bystander intervened and thwarted the alleged kidnapping attempts.
Endi Bala, 23, first tried to kidnap a 15-year-old girl at around 1:30 p.m. while she was walking along Clinton River Road in Clinton Township, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
Bala, who is from Shelby County, allegedly grabbed the girl around her head and neck and forced her into his car through the rear driver’s side door, the Clinton Township Police Department said in a separate statement. A bystander who lives in Clinton Township and saw the incident “physically intervened,” according to police.
The bystander, Paul Billiter, said he was doing yard work when he saw a car pull up next to the girl and heard a man ask her if she needed a ride. Then, Billiter said, the man grabbed the girl “like a sack of potatoes” and pulled her to the side of his car.
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