MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - New 911 call audio captured the pleas for help as witnesses reported an ongoing kidnapping attempt outside of a Miramar gas station.
“911, what’s the address of the emergency?” a 911 operator asked.
“A guy on a scooter, it looked like he tried to grab a kid,” the caller said.
“What did he try?” the 911 operator asked.
“He tried to grab a kid,” the caller said.
The call came in as witnesses saw a man appearing to kidnap a 13-year-old girl near a Shell gas station on South State Road 7, Monday.
Surveillance video obtained by 7News shows the man approaching the child then wrapping his arm around her body and then her neck as he walks alongside her.
“[He] starts to engage the child in conversation then places his arm around the child, and then puts the child in a headlock and tries to take the child away,” said Miramar Police Chief Delrish Moss.
Footage shows the young girl slip out of the man’s grip a short time later.
7News spoke with a good Samaritan off-camera who said he yelled at the man, which helped the girl break free from his hold.
Authorities credit the 13-year-old for her brave decisions that helped her get free and alert everybody nearby of what had just transpired.
“The kid fought, broke free, ran into the gas station, made all the noise she could, drew attention to the situation and then people were able to call for help,” said Moss. “This child did everything right. Drew attention, fought and got to safety, which is what we tell everyone to do.”
Once she got to safety, the 911 caller kept authorities informed that she had escaped the kidnapper.
“Where is she right now?” the 911 operator asked.
“Right now, she’s inside the gas station,” the caller said.
Detectives eventually took the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Michael E. Polanco, into custody.
“Michael Polanco, you’re being charged with kidnapping and battery,” a judge told him during his bond court appearance.
Polanco remains behind bars with no bond at the Broward County Jail.
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