A 34-year-old Port Orange woman on Monday afternoon tried to abduct two children from a park in the Wilbur-By-The-Sea neighborhood before punching a pregnant woman, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies said they were called shortly before 1:30 p.m. to Toronita Avenue Beach Park at Toronita and South Atlantic avenues after two parents reported they had to pull their children away from Sarah Freeman, Sheriff's Office spokesman Andrew Gant said.
Investigators said Freeman approached a 7-year-old girl, told her, "This isn’t a Florida trip you’re going to want to remember" and tried grabbed her by the towel she was wearing.
The girl's mother, who is six months pregnant, pulled her daughter away from Freeman, who hit the woman during the struggle, deputies said.
Investigators said Freeman approached a man whose backside she struck with a stick before saying, "We don't know you around here."
"She told his 5-year-old son, 'It will be all right. He's not your dad,' grabbed him by the arm and started to walk away," Gant said. "The father intervened, got his son back and took him back to his truck, where Freeman tried to force her way in through a passenger window."
Deputies said Freeman turned to another woman and said, "I'll just take your kid, then."
The woman took her child into their vehicle and locked the doors, investigators said.
"Once in custody, she mumbled and made unintelligible statements to a deputy, who noticed she appeared to be under the influence of some unknown substance," Gant said.
Freeman was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on two counts of attempted kidnapping and one count each of aggravated battery on a pregnant victim, burglary of a conveyance and battery. She is being held without bail.
The incident remains under investigation.
No other details were given.
About the Author
