Man shocked to find kidnapped 5-year-old girl at his front door

EVERETT -- It’s a child abduction case that has shaken the community to the core, and Everett police are still on the hunt for the man who kidnapped a 5-year-old girl from her bedroom early Saturday morning.

The kidnapper is caught on surveillance video carrying the girl over his shoulder and away from the Mirabella Apartments on 800 block of 112th Street SE.

Police believe it was a stranger who kidnapped the young girl. And in the end, it was also a stranger who helped her get back safely to her family.

It’s a knock on the door Erik King will never forget.

“Like really light knocking for about 10 minutes," he said. "I didn’t get out of bed -- I figured it was one of the cats or my son.”

Around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, he finally opened his apartment door.

“I was in disbelief,” he said.

What he saw was the young girl, partially dressed and lost.

“I have that picture engrained in my brain for the rest of my life. I feel horrible for her,” King said.

“I asked her why she was at my apartment. She said she couldn’t find her dad, so on and so forth -- it’s all really blurry because I'm half awake,” he said.

Then the little girl mentioned the kidnapper to King.

“She was eerily calm and clear. She said a man took her -- she thought it was her dad -- but he then he had earrings, so that she knew he wasn’t."

Everett police said the man’s intent was to sexually assault the girl, but for some reason the he let her go.

In their pursuit of the suspect K-9 units and man trackers have traced the suspect’s every step, but what they don’t have are any eye witnesses.

Detectives were canvassing three hot spots, including the 10900 block of 10th Drive SE in hopes that residents saw something.

“He was carrying a little child and I thought it was so odd -- her arm was over his shoulders, but it wasn’t like a close hug,” Cindy Delei said.

The kidnapper took the girl to the nearby Interurban Trail and police believe in the process he could have walked through 10th Drive SE.

With the suspect on the loose, the community and parents are on edge. King said the whole thing still feels like dream.

“It’s an eye-opener, it’s like out of a movie."

The suspect is described as a medium-brown skinned man with dark eyes and dark hair. He is under 6-feet tall with a lean to medium build. He was wearing a backward white baseball or painters cap. He also had a solid gold and a diamond stud on each ear.

Police are urging anyone with information to call the tip line at 425-257-8450