10 Victims Who Saved Themselves from Kidnappers

Top 10 Failed Kidnappings Where the Victims Saved Themselves

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at instances of unsuccessful kidnapping attempts, where the victims were either able to free themselves or actively fought back against their attackers.


Espresso Barista

An ordinary barista shift suddenly turned into a nightmare for one woman in Auburn, Washington. While working the drive-thru window at a local espresso shop, a male customer maliciously grabbed the waitress and attempted to subdue her with a zip-tie. A nearby security camera recorded the entire horrifying moment. Fortunately, the girl was able to shake off her assailant and slam the glass shut, just before the suspect drove away. Both the captured footage and an identifiable arm tattoo allowed police to find and apprehend Matthew Darnell, who was charged with attempted kidnapping. It’s unsettling that the incident occurred in spite of the restaurant’s hefty safety measures, but the barista’s quick reaction–and a little luck–helped keep this story from having a much more tragic ending.

Woman on a Train

It’s an attempt so brazen, it’ll send shivers down your spine. In December 2019, Sonny Alloway was filmed in a New York City train trying to talk to an unidentified woman as she slept. Once the train comes to a stop at the station and the doors open, Alloway grabs the woman and carries her onto a platform bench. We’re not quite sure what his plan was after that, but thankfully, it never materialized. The victim was able to regain consciousness and quickly made her way back into the train before it left the station. Alloway reportedly received a dose of street justice before he was apprehended by the authorities for unlawful imprisonment.

Sebastian, the Argentine Teenager

This grainy footage came from a CCTV camera in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The clip shows a boy, identified only as Sebastian, walking down a lonely street in the middle of the night. A car pulls up beside him and two men jump out and attempt to drag him into the vehicle. Sebastian wrestles with the two men and is able to free himself from their hold, against all odds. The boy lets go of his backpack and runs away, foiling their abduction attempt. His would-be kidnappers get back into their car and also flee the scene. It is unclear if any arrests have been made in the case since it occurred in 2017.

Florida Victim

Early on a Monday morning in April 2022, a boy was walking to his school in Orlando, Florida when he was approached by Vinh Nguyen. A surveillance camera outside a restaurant captured the moment when Nguyen tried luring him into his vehicle. He allegedly told the child he was cute and offered to drop him off at school. Thankfully, the boy declined his offer and continued walking. Nguyen was arrested the following day after the footage was given to the authorities. It was later discovered that he had apparently attempted to do the same to another child the previous year. Nguyen was brought up on charges of false imprisonment, luring of a child and battery.

California Daughter

This terrifying incident happened so fast, if you blink, you’d probably miss it. On July 1st 2016, a mother walked into a cell phone store in Victorville, California with her two daughters. While she held her infant in her arms, her older daughter played by the candy machine, right next to the entrance. Then, in a flash, a hand reached through the door and snatched the girl out of the store. That hand belonged to 24-year-old Terry Ransom. Luckily, Ransom lost his grip on the child and she was able to escape, right into her mother’s arms. The would-be abductor was chased down by bystanders, who held him until police arrived. He was charged with kidnapping and child cruelty.

Brittney Baxter

Georgeann Baxter was at a Walmart in Bremen, Georgia with her daughter Brittney, when her worst nightmare nearly became reality. Brittney was playing in the toy section by herself when she was grabbed by 25-year-old Thomas Woods. Using all the power within her, the young girl kicked and screamed until he eventually let her go. Woods, who had just been released on parole after serving prison time for manslaughter, was captured by surveillance cameras getting into his car and driving away. Police were able to use this footage to track him to his house where he was arrested in less than an hour. Although he denied even being at the store, Woods was charged with attempted kidnapping.

Ken’Adi Nash

The doorbell camera at the Nash family house in Ohio captured the attempted abduction of one of their daughters in 2022. Ken'Adi Nash was taking out the trash when a man, identified as Deric McPherson, approached her and grabbed her by the arm. The young girl let out a piercing scream, prompting McPherson to release her and quickly walk past. Ken'Adi rushed back into the house and relayed the incident to her dad, Ricky, who got in his car and chased down the culprit. He was later taken in by authorities and brought up on charges of abduction and inappropriate grabbing. Ricky’s swift chase may have secured McPherson’s capture, but it was Ken'Adi’s quick thinking that prevented the tragedy altogether.

Brittany Diggs

It looked like something out of a Hollywood action movie. 25-year-old Brittany Diggs had already been abducted at gunpoint by Manuel Towns, who had repeatedly threatened to kill her. Towns forced her into the trunk of her car and drove around, in hopes of using her debit card to take out cash. This led him to a gas station in Birmingham where he seemed to have withdrawn money from the convenience store ATM. As Towns returned to the car and slowly pulled out of the parking lot, Diggs popped the trunk using the interior latch and bolted into the store. The Alabama nursing student made it to safety, and her captor was arrested by police about a week later.

Estella, a Brave California Girl

On August 6th 2019, a girl identified as Estella was walking down the street in a California neighborhood when she was accosted by Henry “Oscar” Mazariegos-Gonzalez. The assailant grabbed Estella off the street and tried forcing her into his vehicle. At some point, he reportedly struck her in the head with a hammer. After briefly letting go of the weapon, the brave girl grabbed it and hit Mazariegos-Gonzalez, freeing herself from his hold. Mazariegos-Gonzalez remained on the run for nearly a year until he was apprehended by police on April 19th 2020, in Guatemala. Unfortunately, the culprit never faced justice, as he took his own life in his jail cell before he could be extradited to the U.S.

Alyssa Bonal

This terrifying footage from a street surveillance camera in Florida showed the exact moment young Alyssa Bonal was nearly abducted. Bonal was waiting at a bus stop on the morning of May 18th 2021, when a white minivan parked just beside her. The driver of the vehicle, Jared Paul Stanga, was captured running towards Bonal and grabbing her as she attempted to scurry away. Stanga, who was reportedly wielding a knife, was unsuccessful, as Bonal fought tooth and nail to regain her freedom. According to the young girl, she was inspired by “Law & Order: SVU” to rub the blue slime she had been playing with on Stanga’s arms. This helped police to definitively identify him as the culprit upon his eventual arrest.

Do you have words for these brave victims? Share them in the comments!