California Man Arrested for Attempting to Lure 4-Year-Old from Park

Attempted Kidnapping at California Park

A man was arrested on March 30 for allegedly attempting to kidnap a 4-year-old child at Fox Hills Park in California. The suspect has been identified as Marlo Jeffrey Hempstead.

Culver City Police responded to the incident shortly before 1 p.m. after receiving reports of a possible kidnapping attempt near the playground area of the park. According to eyewitnesses, the suspect, wearing a red hoodie, approached the child and asked them to follow him.

The child's parent and another passerby noticed the interaction and quickly intervened, leading the suspect to walk away from the area. It was confirmed that the child was not physically harmed during the incident.

Authorities Take Action

Police patrols started searching the vicinity for the suspect. Officers found an individual matching Hempstead's description inside a vehicle parked at a nearby shopping center. He was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping.

Information regarding Hempstead's plea or legal representation has not been disclosed.

Similar Incident in New York

In a separate case in New York's Long Island, Carlos Corte-Corte was charged with kidnapping after allegedly taking a 4-year-old girl from a laundromat on March 28. He reportedly lured her out while her mother was distracted.

The missing girl was later found unharmed in a nearby library. Corte-Corte faces charges of kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child. Federal officials have placed an ICE hold on him due to prior illegal entries into the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security reported that Corte-Corte is from Ecuador and had been deported three times in 2020 before re-entering illegally again.