KNIGHTSTOWN -
The vigilance of a Indiana State Trooper resulted in the arrest of a man from Indianapolis for possession of stolen car and the recovery of a child abducted from New Jersey.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m. Saturday Trooper Rich Silcox was driving past the CVS Drug Store on State Road 109 in Knightstown when he saw a car with New Jersey license plates pull into the parking lot. A male got out of vehicle and looked around the lot, then went inside. Trooper Silcox knew that the store had been robbed recently, he pulled into the lot and ran the plate which came back stolen.
Trooper Silcox waited for the man to return to the car and spoke to him and took him into custody for possession of stolen property and suspicion of operating while intoxicated. James Toney, 34, of Indianapolis was transported to the Henry County Jail and held on a $9,000 bond.
Saturday evening Silcox got a call from a New Jersey detective who was notified about the stolen car recovery. He advised the trooper that the car was linked with a woman who fled New Jersey with her six-year-old child unlawfully and was wanted for parental abduction there.
Silcox investigated further and located the woman and the boy at a home in Spiceland, northeast of Knightstown. The boy was taken without incident and turned over to Child Protective Services to be reunited with his father in New Jersey. While the mother is wanted on charges in New Jersey, authorities there wouldn't extradite her from Indiana, so she or Mr. Toney were not charged in connection with abduction at this time.
Because of the proactive response of a trooper checking on something that "just didn't look right," an excited six year old child will be reunited with his father today. Remember, if you see a vehicle on your road, or in your neighborhood, that doesn't belong or looks suspicious, call your local State Police Post or dial 9-1-1 and have it checked out.
