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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

TV Show Leads To Arrest; Abducted 8-Year-Old Safe

Associated Press

A 19-year-old man and the 8-year-old boy he befriended and then was charged with molesting and abducting were found Saturday night in New York, authorities said.

New York City police were alerted to the presence of Jason R. Murphy and little Nicholas Sullivan by a motel clerk within 15 minutes after a report on the case was shown on the TV show “America’s Most Wanted,” said Jan Jorgensen, a Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman.

Murphy, who was arrested shortly afterward, had registered under his own name, Jorgensen said.

“As devious as he was, it’s something that surprises me,” she said.

Jorgensen said she did not know the name of the motel, the borough in which it is located, whether Murphy offered any resistance and other details.

“This all happened so fast, it’s very basic. The boy is safe,” she said.

The arrest was exactly the break that law enforcement officers and the divorced parents of the little boy had been hoping for.