ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — An 18-year-old St. Charles man was charged Tuesday in connection with the abduction of a toddler earlier this month in north St. Louis County.
On the evening of Aug. 10, the Missouri State Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert after a 2-year-old girl was taken from her home on Marbella Drive.
Editor's note: The above video aired on Aug. 10.
According to a probable cause statement from the St. Louis County Police Department, two men wearing black ski masks had broken into the apartment to confront someone about stolen property, though the investigation revealed the people who lived there had no connection to what was stolen.
"They kicked in the door and pistol-whipped my daughter," the toddler's grandmother told 5 On Your Side on the night of the abduction, "and she was holding her baby and they were grabbing the baby and hitting her, and she finally let the baby go," she said.
The pair then fled the apartment in a waiting vehicle and sped away without securing the girl in a car seat, the probable cause statement said.
The toddler was found safe about two hours later. The men had abandoned her at a housing complex with strangers.
Kendal White was identified as one of the men who abducted the toddler. Police found a gun and a mask resembling the one used in the crimes in his home, the probable cause statement said.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office on Tuesday charged White with child kidnapping, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, four counts of armed criminal action and endangering the welfare of a child.
As of Wednesday, White was being held on a $250,000 cash-only bond.
Contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 to speak with investigators if you have any information regarding this incident or the other man involved. To remain anonymous, contact CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477).
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