Dramatic video shows the moment the accused kidnapper of a nine-year-old girl is arrested in Warnbro, Perth, as her mother’s heartbreaking plea for help is revealed minutes after she went missing.
- Tradesman, 37, allegedly lured a girl, nine, to his ute
- They found her hysterical: her hands were allegedly tied with zip ties.
Dramatic footage shows the moment a shopkeeper accused of luring a nine-year-old girl into his silver van was arrested on the same street as the girl’s family home, as her mother’s heart-wrenching plea for help was revealed on social media.
Ryan Ashley Darken, 37, was arrested by police on a residential street in Warnbro, south Perth, on Friday and charged with allegedly kidnapping the young woman.
She was walking to school with friends at 8:45 am when Darken, whom she did not know, allegedly lured her into his ute.
The alarm was raised after a local parent who saw the alleged interaction reported it to the school.
She was found outside a nearby IGA supermarket about an hour later, barefoot, her hands allegedly tied with zip ties, and in a state of hysterics.
Footage taken from a police helicopter later that day showed Darken dressed in high-visibility clothing and leaning against the same van in which the girl was allegedly abducted while being arrested.
An officer announced over the radio that they had a ‘suspect in custody’.
The young woman’s mother launches a desperate plea on social media, uploading two photos of her daughter.
The mother pleaded with strangers on Facebook to help her find her daughter (pictured)
Moments before the girl was found, her mother uploaded two photos of her daughter to Facebook and pleaded with strangers to help find her.
“Please help,” he wrote.
‘A man in a gray/silver ute has [allegedly] I picked up my daughter in front of her primary school in Warnbro!’
“She was with friends, they said she knew the man, but I don’t know anyone in a gray van who would.” [allegedly] take my daughter without informing me first.
Darken was charged with four offences, including arresting another person with intent to prevent/hinder a person from performing an act, imprisonment, and threatening to commit an illegal act.
The father-of-one kept his head down when he appeared at Perth Magistrates Court on Saturday, speaking only to confirm his name and the charges.
Darken, 37, was arrested by officers (pictured) and taken to the Rockingham Police Station shortly after the girl was found.
The girl who was allegedly kidnapped is seen on CCTV being left outside an IGA in Port Kennedy
Acting Detective Inspector Scott Johnson of the sex crimes division praised the father who first reported the alleged incident.
“That’s probably one of the main reasons this got resolved — a parent who realizes something wasn’t right, sees a kid get into a car almost to school, and reports it right away — it’s paramount,” he said.
“It’s one of those things that parents need to have that difficult conversation with kids about stranger danger and talk to someone or go to someone or do anything online.”
WA Premier Roger Cook described the trader’s alleged crimes as “dirty and depraved”.
“I don’t think words can describe my utter disgust and abhorrence, or that of the WA community, for these activities,” he told a news conference on Saturday morning.
“Our hearts go out to that girl, to the family and to the police involved in this important work.”
Darken was taken into custody without bail and will appear at Rockingham Magistrates Court on September 4.
Ryan Ashley Darken (pictured), 37, has been charged in the alleged kidnapping of a nine-year-old girl.
