[AKA2D '91]

The Kidnappers were caught!


Philadelphia Girl's Accused Kidnappers Caught
Thu Jul 25, 1:35 PM ET
By David Morgan

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Two men accused of kidnapping a 7-year-old Philadelphia girl and demanding $150,000 were arrested on Thursday after a bruising chase on foot through their inner-city neighborhood, police said.


Reuters Photo


AP Photo
Slideshow: Erica Pratt Abduction Case

Abducted Pa. Girl Flees Kidnappers
(AP)



Investigators who spent Wednesday evening tracking the two suspects in southwest Philadelphia found James Burns, 29, and Edward Johnson, 23, as they sat in a Ford Explorer SUV just blocks from where Erica Pratt was abducted on Monday evening.

The pair was charged with 11 criminal counts including kidnapping and assault.

Police Chief Inspector Robert Davis said the men were preparing to flee the city. "They were either looking for money or some assistance in getting out of town. ... They were preparing to go down South."

Burns and Johnson, who have criminal records, allegedly grabbed Erica as she played with a friend in front of her grandmother's home, bound her with duct tape and locked her in the basement of an abandoned home in north Philadelphia.

Soon after the abduction, the family began receiving phone calls in which the callers threatened to kill the 3-foot-5-inch (104 cm), 70-pound (32 kg) child unless relatives came up with a $150,000 ransom.

Police said they suspect Burns and Johnson heard Erica's family had recently collected $150,000 from a life insurance police on one of the girl's uncles, killed last March in an apparent gang-related revenge slaying.

Officials said Erica, who spent nearly 24 hours in captivity, managed to free herself late on Tuesday by gnawing through her duct-tape bonds, kicking out a panel in the basement door and breaking a front window.

Youngsters heard her cries and summoned police.

The escape turned Erica into an instant local celebrity.

"I have 21 years in the police department and I have never seen this kind of heroic act of bravery committed by a 7-year-old," police Inspector Bill Colarulo said.

Police said Burns narrowly escaped officers late on Wednesday by fleeing into woods.

When a police car approached the pair early on Thursday, the two suspects bolted from the SUV and led officers on a foot race in which both men were injured, Burns with cut feet and Johnson with a pulled groin.

"One ran out of his sneakers. That's why his feet were all cut up. They ran a good three blocks, jumping over fences, and there was broken glass and debris around," said police Lt. David Byrne, one of the arresting officers.

Johnson, who injured himself scaling a fence, tried unsuccessfully to elude capture by lying on the roof of a garage. Officer Juan Rivera arrested him.

Erica's escape and the arrest of her alleged captors marked a rare happy ending in a string of recent high-profile child abduction cases in the United States.

"There is relief and satisfaction," said Davis.