A 35-year-old Cleveland man accused of attempting to kidnap a 2-year-old girl from a Lakewood playground is being held on a $2 million bond.
Zechariah Daniel Joseph Crawford was detained Friday, June 19, following an altercation in Madison Park.
Lakewood Police Capt. Frank Eschweiler stated that the agency received a frantic phone just after 10 a.m. Friday reporting an attempted kidnapping.
A nanny walking two children observed a man closing in quickly behind her.
According to authorities, he grabbed the two-year-old girl’s wrist before she could react.
The nanny fought back, bringing the child to safety and dialing 911.
The two-year-old was not wounded.
“Right away, good for her; she got on the phone and called 911, and within a matter of minutes, we found him up on Clarence and Madison,” Eschweiler replied.
Officers rushed the area and used park surveillance cameras to locate the culprit. Officers called the nanny back to the scene to identify Crawford as the man who grabbed the girl.
“He was quickly located and apprehended,” Eschweiler stated.
A court set Crawford’s bond at $2 million. Prosecutors have charged him with attempted kidnapping.
Eschweiler claimed the nanny’s instincts made all the difference.
“This could have gone a lot worse,” he replied. “It’s scary and just goes to show it can happen anywhere.”
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