Robert Curtis Milliron, a 22-year-old from Phoenix, told police he kidnapped an 8-year-old girl in Mesa on Sunday because he was "lonely" and wanted companionship.
Police identified the man this morning in a news release, calling the brazen, broad-daylight kidnapping a "terrifying incident for the family that strikes a cord within a community."
The girl had been riding her bicycle near her apartment at 450 S. Valencia, in Mesa, when Milliron grabbed her at about 1 p.m., pulled her into his car and drove away. A witness apparently called police the second it happened. Officers responded quickly. They were setting up a perimeter to try to find the man's silver passenger car when Milliron crashed in an alley about one or two minutes after the abduction, Mesa police Sergeant Tony Landato tells New Times.
Somehow, the girl escaped the car and ran away "into the arms of our arriving officers." Milliron took off on foot and was found about 45 minutes later, Landato says.
Milliron was cooperative and confessed to the kidnapping, cops say.
The vehicle was registered to Milliron, who police say has "no significant criminal history." He was booked into jail on suspicion of kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, aggravated assault, and leaving the scene of an accident.
Milliron's Facebook site states that he's from the class of 2010 at both Intellischool and "Westwind Prep." The website of Intellischool, an Arizona charter school, states that "The staff is very aware that for some students IntelliSchool represents a last option in their education."
His site also says he's in a relationship. But it must not be the relationship he's really looking for.
