Woman foils ‘kidnapping attempt’ after seeing man following two girls on their bikes and child shouting at her: ‘Please help me, that’s not my dad’
- David Daniels, 37, of Brandon, Fla., reportedly began following two girls under the age of 12 as they left a restaurant around 6 p.m. on June 12
- He reportedly told the girls he would “supervise” them on the way home.
- Shortly after, he reportedly hit one of the girls on the head as he continued to follow them around FishHawk Ranch
- The two girls were putting their bikes on when they saw a woman standing outside a nearby church asking for help as he allegedly held one in a chokehold
- The woman at the church, whose name was not released, engaged in conversation until she had a chance to call 911
- Daniels faces charges of false imprisonment of a child and child molestation and is being held on $104,000 bail
A Florida mother foiled an apparent kidnapping attempt last weekend after seeing a man following two young girls on bicycles and feeling bad about it.
David Daniels, 37, of Brandon, began following two girls under the age of 12 as they exited Cherry’s Bar and Grill in the FishHawk Ranch parking lot around 6 p.m. on June 12, according to an official with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Daniels reportedly told the girls he would “supervise” their way home.
“He didn’t know those kids, and those kids definitely didn’t know him,” Jessica Lang, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, told WFLA.
Shortly after, she said, Daniels hit one of the girls on the head as he continued to follow them.
“Thankfully the kids stuck together and rode their bikes to a nearby church and asked an adult for help,” Lang said of the mother, who was outside the church that night.
According to FOX News, the woman immediately said she felt something was wrong.
“One of the little girls said to me with her lips: ‘Please help me, this is not my father.'”
David Daniels, 37, of Brandon, Fla., was arrested June 12 on two counts each of false custody of a child and child molestation after allegedly stalking two girls under the age of 12 from a restaurant, hitting one on the head and restraining one in a stranglehold
At that point, the woman – whose name was not released – said Daniels put one of the girls in a choke hold and whispered something in her ear.
He then reportedly turned his attention back to the church mother and told her they had just moved to the area and were seeking help.
The woman said she then decided to invite her to the church until she had a chance to call the police for help.
“I had a chat with him,” she told FOX 13. “I said, ‘Oh, that’s nice. Where did you move here from?”
‘He said, ‘Oh, I’m not sure.’
When deputies arrived that night, they said they found him on his way back downtown and arrested him on two counts of false detention of a child and child molestation.
Daniels is now being held in the Hillsborough County Jail on $104,000 bail.
It’s unclear if he has an attorney who can speak for him.
Meanwhile, the Good Samaritan says she doesn’t want recognition for what she’s done.
Authorities say the girls rode their bikes to a nearby church (pictured) where a woman was standing outside and mouthed them for help
The girls were reportedly exiting Cherry’s Bar and Frill in the FishHawk parking lot as Daniels followed them
“I don’t want to be a heroine,” she said. “I’ve only done what I hope anyone would do for my own children.”
“There are mothers out there who are like me. They will recognize the signs and know what to do,” she added, admitting, “At that moment, I didn’t know if I was going to have the right answer.
‘But [the children] are fine and they are home today.’