The Louisville Metro Police Department in Kentucky released bodycam footage of two police officers rescuing a little girl from her alleged kidnapper.
“Behind bars is Robby Wildt, 40, after witnesses said they saw him take a 6-year-old girl near Haney Road and put her in his vehicle Friday night, according to arrest records,” WLKY reported Thursday.
A witness followed the suspect and reported his tags to authorities, which led officers to find the child in the front seat of Wildt’s vehicle, the department said.
Wildt reportedly admitted to police “he saw the victim playing outside near the street, circled the block and then took her from the side of the road.”
He told officers when he felt guilty for the apparent kidnapping, he said he began to drive back to where he took the girl, and that is where officers took him into custody.
A department spokesperson identified Sgt. Joe Keeling and Officer Jason Burba as responding to the call, and the officers appear in the videos released on Wednesday.
In the footage, Burba arrived at the scene with his weapon drawn and approached the red vehicle, telling someone to open the passenger door.
Moments later, he slowly opened it and found the girl inside, crying.
“Hello! It’s okay. Come here,” the officer told the child as he took her in his arms.
“I want my daddy!” she cried:
Burba said those few moments cut him to the heart.
“It was tough,” Burba, a father of four, told WAVE. “You have kids.”
Keeling, who also has a child, echoed his fellow officer’s comments.
“It was overwhelming,” he explained. “Especially when you hear her crying and asking for her family because she’s so scared. It was definitely a gut check.”
Both men said they felt the anxiety any parent would feel knowing their child had been taken, adding it is a reminder to talk to kids about what to do when a stranger approaches them.
However, “If something like this does unfortunately happen to you,” Keeling noted, “We’re going to be there and make sure you’re unharmed.”
The suspect was later charged with kidnapping a minor and booked at the Louisville Metro Corrections on a $1 million bond, according to the WAVE report.