[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
This story from Monroe, Washington will stop you cold, even amid an endless sea of awful things going on in the world.
An unidentified woman contacted police in that city last Friday night claiming her ex-boyfriend [not pictured above (that’s Travis Decker)] assaulted her, stole her car, and sped away into the night… with her kids in tow.
Per People and others, she told officers the man tried to run her over as she rushed back to the house to check on their two children, who are reportedly just seven years old and ten months old. And when she finally made it inside after the altercation over the car, both kids were GONE.
Related: When Did Father Of 3 Murdered Girls Change? Travis Decker’s Brother Speaks Out…
Authorities in Monroe have not released the suspect’s name, so it’s tough to know everything about what’s going on. But the details laid out in subsequent court documents reported on by KOMO News on Monday and other local outlets paint a terrifying picture.
And here’s the worst part: the mother told investigators that her ex allegedly said he was going to be “like Travis Decker.”
Yes, really. Decker, of course, is the Washington father who infamously kidnapped and killed his three daughters earlier this year before taking his own life. That tragedy, still painfully raw for families across the state, happened just sixty miles away from Monroe. So, to hear it invoked in a fresh domestic violence case sent cops into overdrive.
Officers immediately issued a statewide “Be on the Lookout” alert in this case. Doing so mobilized departments far beyond Monroe and enlisted neighboring counties to join the hunt. The fear, of course, was the children could be in imminent danger.
And then, as the Washington State Police worked with Monroe authorities to prepare an Amber Alert, a thread of hope emerged: a call came in from a Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office deputy who had located the missing vehicle. Even more stunning, he had found the father and both children. And they were alive.
Monroe officers traveled to Kittitas County to take custody of the man, and did so without further incident. Thankfully, that brought an intense search to a close before it could end in another unspeakable tragedy. And even more importantly, the children were apparently safe and sound.
According to a police press release, the father was taken to the Snohomish County Corrections Bureau, where he is being held on $200,000 bail. He faces suspicion of two counts of first-degree kidnapping, felony harassment for threats to kill, and second-degree domestic violence assault.
We’re just happy this story didn’t have a much, much worse ending.
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Wenatchee Police Department]
The post Man Allegedly Beat Ex, Stole Her Car, Kidnapped Her Kids & Threatened To Kill Them ‘Like Travis Decker’ appeared first on Perez Hilton.