Suspect arrested for attempted child abduction in Vancouver Park

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Police have arrested a suspect in connection with an attempted child abduction in a Vancouver park. After the incident Sunday afternoon, police searched the area and released a description of the suspect, asking for the public's help in locating him.

Investigators identified Michael McGlothlin as the suspect based on surveillance footage from several areas surrounding the attempted kidnapping. According to Vancouver Police, McGlothlin was driving a rental car at the time and was listed as the renter. Investigators found and arrested McGlothlin as he was driving near the intersection of Northeast 18th Street and Northeast 148th Avenue.

An 11-year-old girl was in Lieser Crest Park around 3:40 p.m. Sunday when a man got out of a car, climbed over a fence and grabbed her, according to Vancouver police. The girl began screaming, so the man let go, ran back to the SUV and drove away.

“She was screaming, 'I don't know you, get away from me. Get away from me!'” said a woman who lives near the park and witnessed part of the incident but wished to remain anonymous.

A neighbor's security camera captured the man getting out of the car, approaching the park, then jumping over the fence and driving away moments later, but the incident itself occurred off-screen.

“It's pretty rare for a child to be abducted by strangers,” Sergeant Julie Ballou, sergeant with the Vancouver Police Department's cybercrime digital evidence unit, told KGW on Monday. “When incidents like this happen, it's very disturbing. It's very disturbing, not only for law enforcement, but obviously for the family and the victim and the rest of the community.”