2 women, 1 man charged with false report of child kidnapping

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Police arrested three Oregon residents on charges of initiating a false report of harassment and kidnapping. One of them also faces a fourth-degree assault charge.

The Eugene Register-Guard reports Springfield police received a report Friday about an attempted kidnapping of a 3-year-old girl.

The parents, William Brady and Marlena Brady, told police a man grabbed and tried to take their daughter, until Connie Howlett took back the child.

The police talked with the suspect who said William Brady had attacked him unprovoked.

Authorities sought out nearby video surveillance footage and found video showing William Brady walking up to the victim and kicking him in the face. Police say there was no provocation and the child was never close to the victim.

William Brady also was charged with fourth-degree assault.