Bystanders Halt 4-Year-Old’s Attempted Abduction

Authorities in western Missouri are crediting two men with stopping the attempted abduction of a 4-year-old boy as his mother watched from her wheelchair.

The suspect, 44-year-old Edwina Bates, was charged Tuesday with child endangerment. One of the rescuers told police that Bates dangled the child several times over a third-floor railing.

The incident took place Monday evening at a Grandview apartment complex.

Officers said the boy was playing outside when a woman grabbed him and ran up the stairs in a nearby apartment building.

The two men chased the abductor, but the woman refused to release the boy and hung him over a railing. Police said one of the men was able to grab the child.

Police said Bates told officers she just wanted to play with the boy.