Staged Child Abduction Leads to Fiasco

Parents and children in Sequim, Washington, are enjoying a lovely day in the park, when two masked men in a minivan pull up and grab a toddler. The van speeds away and is even pursued by a concerned witness who tried desperately to get the plate number. One of the men returns later to explain that he is the father of the kidnapped child, and this was all set up to make a Child Abduction Awareness video. The damage, though, was already done. The police are still debating filing charges against the perpetrators of this disturbance, but two people are indeed under investigation. The charges could include a misdemeanor dangerous conduct or failing to obtain a permit, but two brothers (who claimed responsibility via video) said they had notified police minutes before. However, no one told the people in the park, who were put into a frenzy and involved the police. Motivations behind this staged abduction seem to waver as the man who claims to be the boy's father says it was for an awareness video, while a woman claiming to be the boy's mother claims it was to research how people would react. "[It] was like a big slap in the face," said the onlooker who pursued the van, when she found out the whole thing was a set-up. Photo and video via: Twinz TV