CANTON, Ohio — A 50-year-old man is facing attempted abduction charges after he allegedly tried to abduct four girls playing on a playground at Weis Park off Harvard Avenue Northwest in Canton, according to police.
Jay W. Miller, 50, was arrested and charged with four counts of attempted abduction, according to court documents.
On Wednesday around 5:41 p.m., 7-year-old-twins, along with a 6-year-old girl and her 11-year-old sister, were playing when Miller approached them and threatened to put duct tape on their mouths, hit them with a hammer and drag them to his car, police told News 5.
The kids ran to their parents who were watching a baseball game nearby, police said.
In the meantime, a good Samaritan, who is also a baseball coach for kids, heard the commotion and approached Miller.
The coach, David Ratchford, got a picture of Miller's license plate and tried to get the man out of his vehicle.
"I was yelling, hitting his car, trying to pull on his handle. I mean, he almost ran over my foot as he was pulling away because he was trying to get out of there pretty quickly," Ratchford said.
The driver sped off, but Racthford showed his picture of the plate to police. Officers found Miller at his home on 32nd Street NE and arrested him.
Amanda Harper, the mother of the twin girls, is grateful for the coach's quick thinking, but remains rattled by what happened.
Harper recalled the suspect was wearing gloves as he got into his car.
"What was he really going to do? What could he have done?" Harper said. Thank God they're all still here. Thank goodness I didn't come over here and one of them is not there."
Miller is scheduled to appear in court for his arraignment on May 24 at 9:00 a.m.
