Suspect booked early Wednesday into Craighead County Detention Center
JONESBORO, Ark. – A young child was reported abducted Tuesday afternoon in Jonesboro but was recovered and is safe after a pursuit that spanned from Craighead County through Poinsett County and into Cross County. The suspect is in jail as of this morning.
At 4:43 PM, the police were notified of the child being taken from a location on North Rogers Street, Public Information Specialist Sally Smith told NEA Report. The 7-month-old child was taken by a 37-year-old black male suspect who is thought to be driving a brown/tan Chevrolet Tahoe.
The suspect was believed to have driven south from Jonesboro out of Craighead County and into Poinsett County, possibly near the Payneway community. The pursuit continued into Cross County, where the suspect crashed near Cherry Valley shortly before 6 PM.
Authorities apprehended the child abduction suspect, whose name has not yet been released. They rescued the child, who was muddy – but thought to be okay by responders at the scene, radio traffic reported. The child was airlifted to a Memphis hospital, JPD confirmed in an official release. The suspect was taken to a Cross County hospital. Their conditions weren’t released by police Tuesday.
At 4:23 AM Wednesday, Bennie Irving Hancock, 37, of Jonesboro, was booked into Craighead County Detention Center on a $1 million temp bond for the charge of kidnapping. More charges are expected to follow.
At 10:48 AM, JPD confirmed the child had been released from the hospital. The baby was “doing well,” said Sally Smith, JPD’s Public Information Specialist.
I was on scene and witnessed a body bag being put inside the ambulance. Did they transport the kidnapper in a body bag or did someone die and it isnt being released.
Unfortunately the kidnapper wasn’t in the body bag!
And it’s very common for the JPD to reveal only a portion of what actually happened.
He should catch a misdemeanor charge just for his hair alone…And immediately executed if found guilty and charged!