A group of bystanders at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon, intervened to stop a naked 32-year-old man who allegedly tried to kidnap a seven-year-old girl.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening when Daniel C. Vasey allegedly was involved in a physical altercation when he tried to take the girl away from her mother. Multiple people called 911 to report a naked man running through the park. One caller told the operator the man tried to punch them in the head.
All Central Precinct officers were busy with other emergencies at the time, including a gun-related incident. Minutes later, another caller reported that Vasey approached a family and grabbed the girl by the arm, trying to wrest her away from her mother’s grasp. The family was visiting the area as tourists from out of state.
😲Naked man tries to kidnap 7-year-old at Portland waterfront as standoff delays police😲
— American Crime Stories (@AmericanCrime01) July 13, 2026
Police said callers had been reporting the suspect running nude through the park for approximately 10 minutes before he grabbed the girl, and one caller said the man had tried to punch them… pic.twitter.com/walSiTXlme
The struggle was so intense that the girl was lifted off the ground. The girl’s father and several others who were present at the scene immediately jumped in to stop Vasey. They punched, slapped, and pulled on the suspect to get him away from the child. One bystander used pepper spray to deter him.
After meeting with such resistance, Vasey allegedly fled the scene and ran into the Willamette River. Officers found him in the water swimming while still naked. The authorities arrested him there at the scene.
The Democrats have destroyed the once beautiful city of Portland Oregon, known as the city of Roses.
— Shelly (@500Rochelle) July 13, 2026
Democrats are doing absolutely nothing about the homelessness and crime that's taken over!
Boarded up windows, Broken down vehicles litter of the streets, open drug use.
The girl sustained only minor scratches from the struggle. She did not require medical attention.
Vasey was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of attempted kidnapping in the first degree, attempted kidnapping in the second degree, custodial interference in the first degree, assault in the third degree, and harassment. He does not have a prior criminal history in Multnomah County.
All I can say is that the suspect had better be glad he didn’t pull this in the South. If he had, he’d have faced more than slaps and punches.
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