Every parent’s nightmare became reality on Thursday afternoon when we learned that a young girl was kidnapped from a Mercer Island street shortly after her school bus had dropped her off.

Police were contacted after Larsen called the girl’s parents and demanded a large sum of money--$125,000--in order for them to be able to see their daughter again.

A drop-off place was arranged, and police watched as the defendant retrieved the money from a garbage dumpster. But rather than releasing the young girl, Larsen fled.

The defendant is accused of leading police on a lengthy high-speed pursuit that reached 100 mph. Larsen was eventually stopped and arrested near Monroe. In addition to recovering the girl, police found a black pellet gun in Larsen’s vehicle.

Thankfully, the girl was unharmed and she is back at home with her family. She was supposed to celebrate her ninth birthday last Thursday evening.

From that chilling incident, Larsen is being charged today with:

*Kidnapping in the first degree,
*Attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle
*Extortion in the first degree; and,
*Theft of rental or leased property.

Since his arrest, police have learned that this was not Larsen’s first kidnap attempt.

He is also accused of being involved in an abduction attempt on March 18 with regard to a 63-year-old woman who was walking her dog on Mercer Island.

He is accused of pointing a gun at the woman while she was walking on a street. His attempt failed when she screamed and protested. The defendant sped away in a Ford Explorer.

In that incident, Larsen is charged with:

*Attempted kidnapping in the first degree.

Larsen is currently being held in the King County Jail on $1 million bail.

As a community, we all felt the horror over last week’s kidnapping, for abductions by strangers don’t always have good endings.

We all breathed a sigh of relief when we heard the news that this girl was safe and was returned to her parents. She is now able to celebrate her birthday and our prayers are with her.

I also want to thank all of the law enforcement agencies for such a superb investigation, and for all that helped pursue and arrest the suspect, and reunite this young girl with her family.

It was an extraordinary effort on the part of law enforcement in bringing a close to this horrible ordeal. I am proud of their work.

In summary, Larsen is charged with five felonies:

*Kidnapping in the first degree
*Attempted kidnapping in the first degree
*Attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle
*Extortion in the first degree; and,
*Theft of rental or leased property

For more information, also see: Charges Filed in Kidnapping of Nine Year Old Girl

Dated: April 6, 2004