On Monday, January 16, surveillance footage at a drive-thru in Auburn, Washington showed footage of a man attempting to kidnap a barista.
In the video, which has since gone viral on Twitter, the suspect can be seen trying to grab the barista as she gives him his order. The suspect, a tall man with tattooed arms driving a pickup truck, is also seen briefly fighting with the barista before driving away in his vehicle.
: Auburn Police Dept.ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING: Police in Auburn, Wash., say a man tried to kidnap a barista by dragging her through a drive-through window. He even tried to put a zip tie around her head during the attack. The man has since been arrested.📹: Auburn Police Dept. https://t.co/ZMJUYWDaOo
According to Auburn authorities, the suspect was holding a zip-tie, believed to be used to tie the woman’s hands. He appeared to drop cash as he fled.
The New York Post reported that the man was arrested on the alleged kidnapping attempt. The Auburn Police Department has not released his name or the possible charges he may face.
The suspect in the attempted barista kidnapping was arrested at home
On Monday, just hours after the attempted kidnapping, Auburn authorities released footage of the incident on Twitter and urged anyone with leads to the suspect’s identity to come forward.
In an official statement, Kolby Crossley, the public information officer for the Auburn Police Department, told the US today that the suspect was arrested after authorities found evidence linking him to the kidnapping. Crossley said:
“The suspect was arrested at his home in Auburn and we were able to quickly search his pickup truck and find evidence linking him to the crime scene.”
Several netizens are stunned by the audacity of the kidnapping attempt. Many have questioned the suspect’s intentions and how he expected to pull an adult into his car through the drive-through window.
According to KOMO News, the barista, who has worked at the store for 15 years, was not injured in the incident. The authorities have not yet announced any possible motives for the attempted kidnapping.
Kidnappings are not uncommon in Washington
While the incident was considered shocking by many netizens, Washington state is no stranger to kidnappings.
In August 2022, two men were arrested in separate high-profile kidnappings in Seattle. While one man was accused of trying to drag a 10-year-old girl into his vehicle in View Ridge, the other allegedly tried to snatch a child off the street in downtown Seattle.
Washington resident Emmett Oliver told Fox reporters:
“Everyone is really on high alert and those with children are on the alert now.”
In November, authorities in Mount Vernon, Washington, reported that a 5-year-old boy believed to have been abducted in the US state was found in Vietnam, where he was living with the person believed to have abducted him.
Although many of the victims in these kidnapping cases are children, the Auburn kidnapping attempt is unusual in that an adult was targeted.