Police find suspect in child abduction

NBC 10 News
Published: October 9, 2008

ATTLEBORO, Mass.—Attleboro police arrested a man Thursday night in connection with a child abduction.

Police charged Mark Rantanen, 46, of Attleboro with kidnapping and assault and battery.

He is currently being held and is scheduled to be arraigned in Attleboro District Court on Friday morning.

Police said a 13-year-old boy was playing in his yard at about 10:30 a.m. when Rantanen grabbed him and dragged him into a wooded area next to the boy’s house.

“The child came out into the yard and at some point he was dragged into the woods by an unidentified male,” said Capt. David Proia of the Attleboro Police Department. “He was able to escape. His father came out looking for him. His father helped him get out of the woods, and then they called the police.”

Police said the boy was with Rantanen for just a few minutes and was able to get away from him. The boy was not injured.

Along with a K-9 team and a Massachusetts State Police helicopter, police searched the nearby wooded area for Rantanen.

Police called off the search at about 2 p.m.

An officer working a road detail on Park St. found Rantanen and he was arrested without incident.