Parents turn in own son who is accused of attempted kidnapping

The police in Colorado, USA, managed to catch a man accused of attempted kidnapping after his parents turned him in.

The man, identified as 28-year-old Diego James Gettler, allegedly tried to kidnap a 10-year-old girl outside a STEM Launch K-8 school in Thornton, Colorado on September 23.

According to a police affidavit, the girl claimed that Gettler approached her after her mother dropped her off at school and asked if she was a student there.

"The male made her feel uncomfortable, so she stood up as he was walking back down the stairs. The male grabbed [her] at this point, in a manner she described as him wrapping his hands and arms around her waist from behind," it read.

The child started screaming for help. It was only after she managed to pull down his mask that he got scared and backed off. He left the girl, ran to his car, and drove away.

The man was caught on CCTV running to his car and getting in the passenger side door before escaping from the scene, writes The Independent.

The police managed to arrest Gettler in just three days with his parents' help. His parents reached out to the Thornton Police Department after seeing photos from the CCTV footage released by the police. They recognised the car and their son, and tipped off Thornton police.

"[His parents] stated Diego owns and operates a gray Saturn Aura which has damage on the driver side caused by an earlier car accident," the affidavit says. "[His parents] further confirmed Diego has to enter the vehicle from the passenger side."

A probe into the incident later revealed that his cell phone was in the vicinity at the time of the incident. Gettler was arrested on September 26 and has been charged with second-degree kidnapping. He is scheduled to appear in court on October 5.