Police: Missing toddler abducted by grandmother found safe
DES MOINES, Wash. - A missing 2-year-old boy who was abducted from his Des Moines home by force on Tuesday has been found safe in Renton, police say.
A Des Moines police spokesman said Ronnie D. Tran, 2, was found shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, just hours after police asked for help from the public in locating the missing toddler.
Police say it's believed that Ronnie was taken by his grandmother and another family member, who attacked the boy's 40-year-old mother with a stun gun and bound her with plastic tie-straps at about noon Tuesday.
The grandmother, identified as Vien Nguyen, 65, and the other family member then drove the boy and his mother to a home in Fife. The mother was tied to a cupboard in the garage, and her son was then taken into the main house, according to police.
The mother eventually managed to escape, but was unable to get into the house to retrieve her child. Meanwhile, the grandmother fled the scene with the boy in a car, police said.
The mother alerted other family members, and police were notified about the abduction at about 9:30 p.m. A search found the grandmother's car abandoned in Fife.
The other family member suspected of assisting the grandmother with the abduction, identified as Alyssa M. Chang, 46, was arrested but the toddler and grandmother remained missing until the boy was found Wednesday morning.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the grandmother had been located.
The toddler's father, Kang T. Tran, showed up at Des Moines police headquarters on Wednesday morning and is cooperating with investigators.
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This is a developing news story. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
A Des Moines police spokesman said Ronnie D. Tran, 2, was found shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, just hours after police asked for help from the public in locating the missing toddler.
Police say it's believed that Ronnie was taken by his grandmother and another family member, who attacked the boy's 40-year-old mother with a stun gun and bound her with plastic tie-straps at about noon Tuesday.
The grandmother, identified as Vien Nguyen, 65, and the other family member then drove the boy and his mother to a home in Fife. The mother was tied to a cupboard in the garage, and her son was then taken into the main house, according to police.
The mother eventually managed to escape, but was unable to get into the house to retrieve her child. Meanwhile, the grandmother fled the scene with the boy in a car, police said.
The mother alerted other family members, and police were notified about the abduction at about 9:30 p.m. A search found the grandmother's car abandoned in Fife.
The other family member suspected of assisting the grandmother with the abduction, identified as Alyssa M. Chang, 46, was arrested but the toddler and grandmother remained missing until the boy was found Wednesday morning.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the grandmother had been located.
The toddler's father, Kang T. Tran, showed up at Des Moines police headquarters on Wednesday morning and is cooperating with investigators.
----
This is a developing news story. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
