The alleged abduction of four siblings by a woman in a white van as they were walking to school was captured by a Ring doorbell video in Detroit, Michigan.
The video from Nov. 30 shows a van stopping by the side of a road where police say she enticed four children to get into her van. The children, ages 6 to 10 years old, are obscured in the video by a large tree.
The alleged abduction was foiled later on when the woman drove through a red light at about 7:30 a.m., bringing her to the attention of police officers.
When the officers pulled the van over, they said that they noticed the children had very odd body language. That’s when they asked an unusual question of the driver.
“Are these your children?” an officer asked, according to Detroit Police Chief James White.
He said that some of the children shook their heads as if to say “no.”
The officers also said that they asked the driver what school the children went to, and she could not give a good answer to the question.
When police separated the driver from they children, they questioned one of the older children who told them the woman was not their mother.
Police later identified the woman as 37-year-old Stephanie Marie Binder. They also said that she had stolen the van prior to abducting the children.
“There were four children walking to school,” said a prosecutor to WDIV-TV. “Ms. Binder approached in a stolen van that she admittedly stole and lured the children into her van and drove away with the children, telling them she was taking them to school.
Binder was booked on numerous charges including kidnapping, child enticement, and unlawful imprisonment. Her bail was set at $5 million. WDIV reported that she has a lengthy criminal history including a drug conviction and multiple retail frauds.
The two police officers are being hailed as heroes for saving the children.
Here’s a local news report about the shocking incident:
How four siblings stuck together to survive a kidnapping in Detroit www.youtube.com