MARION, Indiana — A mother said she held onto her 4-year-old daughter and screamed for help as a man tried to kidnap the girl at a grocery store in Marion on Monday.
Jason Milliner, 37, of Marion, was arrested hours after the alleged attempted kidnapping.
Police said a woman went to the police department just before 4 p.m. Monday to report the attempted kidnapping.
She told police a man tried to grab her 4-year-old child while she was grocery shopping at Needler's Fresh Market in Marion. She said the suspect ran from the store when she screamed.
The woman posted on Facebook about the incident and another woman commented, telling her about a similar incident that happened at Walmart. That incident, police said, involved a different suspect.
Court documents say the mother told police she and her daughter were grocery shopping at around 1:30 p.m. when she noticed a "weird guy" wearing a big black hoodie, a black ski mask or beanie, light-colored jeans and work boots.
The mother said the man followed her and her daughter around the produce section. She lost sight of the man while she was looking for lettuce.
Police later reviewed the market's surveillance video and watched the suspect walk in minutes after the mother. The video showed him hanging around the produce section, then going to the bathroom and returning to the beer aisle, which was near the produce section where the mother and daughter were.
The man was at the store for seven minutes and didn't buy anything.
The video showed the man following the woman and daughter as they left the produce section and went to the meat section.
The mother said she didn't notice the man until she got into the dairy aisle. At this point, she felt uncomfortable with the suspect following her and she said she held tightly onto her daughter's hand.
There aren't any working cameras in the dairy aisle, so officers couldn't see where the incident took place.
The woman said she lost sight of the man and then let go of her daughter's hand so she could reach for some sour cream.
The woman said as soon as she let go of her daughter's hand, the man grabbed her daughter by her coat and began pulling her away.
The girl became upset and started to cry. She grabbed her mom's leg and started yelling, "mommy!" The woman dropped her basket, picked her daughter up and started screaming.
As she yelled at the suspect, she said other people started to look and the suspect ran down the aisle without saying anything.
Surveillance video didn't show the man running, but it did show him walking quickly away and throwing his hands up in the air. The video followed the suspect to the front door, where he took off his ski mask or beanie and then walked quickly out of the store.
Video showed him leave in a red pickup truck.
Investigators were able to identify the suspect as Milliner. They went to his home later in the day Monday to speak with him.
Police saw the truck parked outside the home.
Documents say officers asked Milliner if he was at Needler's earlier in the day. He said yes and officers told Milliner he needed to go to the police station to speak with detectives. Milliner also told officers the truck he left the market in was parked at his home.
Milliner was interviewed and arrested at the Marion Police Department. He's being held at the Grant County Jail on a $20,000 bond.
Court records show Milliner was charged with felony kidnapping and made his first court appearance on Tuesday. The prosecutor has also requested a no-contact order for the victim.