In a terrifying moment that could have ended in tragedy, an Oregon mother acted quickly and bravely to stop a man from abducting her 23-month-old daughter. The incident happened on the morning of April 29, and though the suspect is still on the run, the little girl was saved thanks to her mother’s fast reaction.
A Normal Morning Turns Dangerous
Scottie Grimes, a mother from Portland, Oregon, was getting ready to take her daughter Sonnet to preschool. Around 8 a.m., she briefly stepped inside her home to grab her things and left her child in a stroller near the side of their house. She says she was gone for less than a minute.
But when she returned, her daughter was missing.
Grimes ran onto the street and was shocked to see a man walking away quickly while pushing her daughter’s stroller down the sidewalk.
A Brave Move to Save Her Child
Without wasting a second, Grimes ran up to the man and punched him in the face. “I just decked him in the face and was like, ‘I’m calling the cops!’” she told local news channel KATU. The man immediately let go of the stroller and ran away. Thankfully, her daughter was unharmed.
“I was screaming, ‘My baby! My baby!’” Grimes said. She quickly pulled the stroller to safety in case the man tried to grab her child again.
Police Still Searching for the Suspect
The Portland Police Bureau said officers arrived at the scene at 10 a.m. They searched the area but couldn’t find the man. There were no security cameras nearby to help with identification.
The suspect is described as a white man in his 50s. He was wearing a black beanie, black surgical mask, black sweatshirt, and black jeans at the time of the incident.
Sgt. Kevin Allen from Portland Police told KGW News, “It’s very dangerous, but as a parent, I think any of us would do the same thing. It’s amazing she was able to stop him like that.”
Community Reaction and Concerns
After the incident, Grimes shared her experience on the neighborhood app NextDoor. One of her neighbors commented that their daughter had also been followed by a man dressed in black on the same day, raising more safety concerns in the area.
While some people questioned why Grimes left her child alone outside, she responded by saying her daughter was still on their property, and she was only inside for a very short time. “I’m always pretty guarded, but I also do generally believe that most people are good,” she said. “When things like this happen so close to home, it makes me question that.”