A Texas mother was forced to take extreme measures when a man allegedly attempted to kidnap her 2–year–old daughter.
On Monday evening, Paige Ortiz and her husband had just returned home with their daughter from shopping for a television at Walmart when they noticed a blue truck matching the one Orlando had was following them.
Ortiz said she started to take the groceries into the house when the man started talking to her husband about his truck. Then, she watched in horror as the man snatched her daughter from her husband‘s arms.
“I immediately dialed 911,” she said. “I had the knife in my hand, and I was running as the phone was ringing.”
Ortiz said the man told her husband that he was not the father of the child and tried to run off with her. While her husband struggled with the man, Ortiz held the knife to his throat and threatened to kill him unless he released her daughter.
She said her husband was eventually able to pull their daughter away from the man and he sped off in his truck. The Tarrant County Sheriff‘s Office identified the man as 62–year–old Steven Bayse, and when they tried to pull him over, he reportedly led them on a chase and eventually hit three patrol cars and almost struck a deputy.
Bayse was arrested and charged with kidnapping, evading arrest or detention with a vehicle, and aggravated assault against a public servant. His bond was set at $125,000.
Ortiz said that despite her heroic actions, some people questioned her decision against killing the man.
“People, I think, are also questioning why I didn’t kill him,” she said. “But I only had a certain amount of strength left, and I had to make the choice to either pull her from his arms and get her to safety or end his life, and I chose to get her to safety.”
Incredibly, Ortiz said her daughter appears to be doing well following the frightening ordeal.
“She sleeps well at night. She acts normally. She’s still, you know, as rambunctious and full of attitude as ever,” she said.
The Tarrant County Sheriff‘s Office has not released any further information at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
