RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — Authorities have released additional details regarding a significant law enforcement presence in the Irmo area on Thursday afternoon.
An incident report provided by the Richland County Sheriff's Department said that multiple agencies were in the area searching for a kidnapping suspect after an off-duty South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper called dispatch to report a man run into the woods with a child in the 1000 block of Farming Creek Road.
Officers from several agencies, including the Lexington County Sheriff's Department, Irmo Police Department, the Department of Juvenile Justice and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), assisted in setting up a perimeter to catch the suspect and recover the child. Investigators also utilized a helicopter to search the area above. The report states that as one deputy was checking a shed, they heard movement in the woods and saw a person matching the description of the suspect who was with a child.
The report states that as the deputy got closer, the suspect ran. However, the deputy got the child and brought him to a patrol car. According to the report, emergency medical services evaluated the child, who was cleared and didn't need to be taken to the hospital.
While redactions make the subjects unclear, deputies spoke with someone who said an argument between two people became physical. It's unclear how this ties into the reported kidnapping.
The report continues that deputies set up a secondary perimeter at another location. However, after hours of searching, they didn't find the suspect.
The Richland County Sheriff's Department released the incident report on Friday afternoon but didn't have an update on the investigation. The department said in a Thursday night update that there was no threat to the area.