Police in American Fork, UT are searching for a man who they suspect abducted a 5-year-old child from the parking lot of a Walmart.
KSL reports investigators identified the suspect as Danny Sihalath, 29. They describe him as a 5-foot-11 Asian or Pacific Islander with black hair and brown eyes. He weighs 190 pounds with with a tattoo on both forearms.
Authorities immediately issued an amber alert for the child, but canceled it after finding him at a relative’s house.
They say the boy, Lorenzo Linam, was in the back seat of a car at a Walmart. They located him five hours later after issuing their alert and canceled it after 3 am, according to Fox13.
Police also released a photo of the suspect’s vehicle.
It’s a red 2012 Acura TSX SE with Utah license plate number “2S2NP.” The front bumper and grill are missing and the driver’s side window is damaged.
Police tell Fox13 employees saw Sihalath opening packages and shoplifting. He ran to a car and ignored calls by police to stop.
“The male continued not to comply and began to flee in the vehicle,” said Lt. Josh Christensen with the American Fork Police Department. “In his attempts to flee, he did end up striking his adult passenger, the adult female passenger with the vehicle, knocking her to the ground.”
Deputies fired several shots at the car as the suspect drove off. A chase followed, but eventually, officers lost sight of him.
There’s no word on whether the suspect and the child are related.
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