10 FAILED Kidnapping Attempts Caught on Camera

10 Thwarted Kidnapping Attempts Caught on Camera

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at 10 Thwarted Kidnapping Attempts Caught on Camera.

For this list, we’ll be considering the most spine-chilling recordings of botched abduction plots.

Which of these shocking incidents left you the most terrified? Let us know in the comments.

Craig Bonello

For a preteen Florida girl and her mother, this was probably the most terrifying 15 seconds of their entire lives. While shopping at a Dollar General store on June 7th 2016, a man identified as Craig Bonello grabbed the girl by her arm and violently dragged her away. Without missing a beat, the girl’s mother sprung into action, fighting off Bonello as he tugged her daughter through the supermarket’s aisles, all in full view of surveillance cameras. Bonello eventually let go and tried to make a run for it, but he was blocked by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy and arrested. He was brought up on charges of kidnapping and child abuse, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Naseem Slamang

In September 2020, a video went viral on social media, showing the attempted abduction of a child at a restaurant in Johannesburg, South Africa. In the clip, two women are seen sitting together with a young girl at the Bella Napoli Italian Kitchen. All of a sudden, 24-year-old Naseem Slamang jumps over the railings and lunges towards the child. Slamang’s brazen attempt to abduct the young girl in broad daylight was however cut short by the restaurant’s owner Dishal Sooku. Sooku, a trained martial artist, immediately tackled the culprit to the floor, placing him in a chokehold, while one of the women secured the girl. Slamang was swiftly arrested by police and charged with multiple counts of assault and attempted kidnapping.

Timothy Todd Milner

The tremendous efforts of a gas station cashier and customer made the difference between life and death for a woman in Coweta County, Georgia. Surveillance footage from the convenience store showed the woman and a man, later identified as Timothy Todd Milner, walk up to the counter. The woman was reported to have quietly asked the cashier for a phone, but after being handed one, Milner grabbed it from her and threw it on the counter. He then dragged her out of the building and into his truck, parked outside. Noticing the ordeal, a stranger quickly took a picture of Milner’s license plate, which aided police in locating him. Upon his arrest, Milner was charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and battery.

Nathaniel Rodriguez

Most of us do not know how we would react if we ever came face to face with a dangerous criminal. But Philadelphia convenience store clerk Manveer Komer knew exactly what to do in that situation. While working the overnight shift on November 11th 2015, Komer stopped the apparent abduction of a doctor by a supposedly armed criminal named Nathaniel Rodriguez. Rodriguez allegedly kidnapped the lady and was attempting to withdraw money using her debit card. Footage from the store’s cameras showed Komer leaving the counter and confronting Rodriguez just as the two were about to exit. The suspect then fled the scene in the victim’s car, but was later tracked down and arrested after making use of her phone.

Santiago Salcedo

On October 11th 2021, a woman was walking by a gas station in the Bronx with her three grandchildren when a man approached them. Partially covered in a blanket, the man suddenly grabbed one of the toddlers and took to his heels. Initially torn between the captured girl and the other two boys left with her, the grandmother eventually chased after the abductor. Other bystanders joined in and they soon cornered the man, later identified as Santiago Salcedo, and he let go of the child. After riding away on a scooter, police later caught up with Salcedo, who was reported to be homeless, and arrested him. He was arraigned on charges of attempted kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

Thomas Woods

Georgeann Baxter was at a Walmart in Bremen, Georgia with her daughter Brittney, when her worst nightmare nearly became reality. Brittney was playing in the toy section by herself when she was grabbed by 25-year-old Thomas Woods. Using all the power within her, the young girl kicked and screamed until he eventually let her go. Woods, who had just been released on parole after serving prison time for manslaughter, was captured by surveillance cameras getting into his car and driving away. Police were able to use this footage to track him to his house where he was arrested in less than an hour. Although he denied even being at the store, Woods was charged with attempted kidnapping.

James McGonagle

It’s always particularly shocking when an attempted child abduction not only occurs in broad daylight, but also right in front of their parents. That was the case of Jacob Diaz, who was walking down a Queens street with his mom, Dolores Diaz Lopez, and two siblings. Diaz was slightly ahead of the rest when a man jumped out of a parked car and snatched him, just a few feet away from Lopez. The quick-thinking mom and the other kids immediately ran after the man - 24-year-old James McGonagle - and successfully retrieved Diaz through the front passenger window. McGonagle was able to flee the scene in his car, but he was later arrested by police on charges including attempted kidnapping and reckless endangerment.

Manuel Towns

It looked like something out of a Hollywood action movie. 25-year-old Brittany Diggs had already been abducted at gunpoint by Manuel Towns, who had repeatedly threatened to kill her. Towns forced her into the trunk of her car and drove around, in hopes of using her debit card to take out cash. This led him to a gas station in Birmingham where he seemed to have withdrawn money from the convenience store ATM. As Towns returned to the car and slowly pulled out of the parking lot, Diggs popped the trunk using the interior latch and bolted into the store. The Alabama nursing student made it to safety, and her captor was arrested by police about a week later.

Deric McPherson

The doorbell camera at the Nash family house in Ohio captured the attempted abduction of one of their daughters in 2022. Ken'Adi Nash was taking out the trash when a man, identified as Deric McPherson, approached her and grabbed her by the arm. The young girl let out a piercing scream, prompting McPherson to release her and quickly walk past. Ken'Adi rushed back into the house and relayed the incident to her dad, Ricky, who got in his car and chased down the culprit. He was later taken in by authorities and brought up on charges of abduction and inappropriate grabbing. Ricky’s swift chase may have secured McPherson’s capture, but it was Ken'Adi’s quick thinking that prevented the tragedy altogether.

Jared Paul Stanga

This terrifying footage from a street surveillance camera in Florida showed the exact moment young Alyssa Bonal was nearly abducted. Bonal was waiting at a bus stop on the morning of May 18th 2021, when a white minivan parked just beside her. The driver of the vehicle, Jared Paul Stanga, was captured running towards Bonal and grabbing her as she attempted to scurry away. Stanga, who was reportedly wielding a knife, was unsuccessful, as Bonal fought tooth and nail to regain her freedom. According to the young girl, she was inspired by “Law & Order: SVU” to rub the blue slime she had been playing with on Stanga’s arms. This helped police to definitively identify him as the culprit upon his eventual arrest.