Yuma police release body cam video to debunk viral ‘kidnapping’ post
By: -----
Yuma, AZ - A viral social media post claiming a 16-year-old girl was violently abducted in Yuma last month is false, police say. Now they’re releasing body camera footage to prove it.
The department issued a statement Friday pushing back against the widely shared post, which alleged a violent attempted kidnapping on July 21 and accused officers of mishandling the investigation.
Police say officers were called around 1:30 a.m. to a liquor store on a report of an aggravated assault. When they arrived, they spoke with several people, including the teen involved.
Video released showed the girl tell officers she had gone inside for a non-alcoholic drink, but when asked for ID, she went back outside and gave a man money to buy it for her.
Another witness, however, told police the girl was actually trying to buy a vape.
According to investigators, the clerk refused to sell her the vape, so she asked the man outside to buy it. He went through the drive-through but did not get her the vape. When she asked for her money back, he refused and began to drive away.
Police say the girl then grabbed onto the driver’s side window frame as the car moved. She held on for about 260 feet before letting go when the vehicle came to a sudden stop, rolling onto the roadway.
The viral post also claimed police failed to collect surveillance footage from the store. That claim YPD flatly denies.
Officers were told during the initial investigation that the store had video, but employees said only the store owner could access the surveillance system, police say.
YPD’s video forensic personnel made multiple attempts to reach the owner before going directly to the business and recovering the video on July 30, police say.
“Claims that the Department failed to obtain this evidence are inconsistent with the investigative steps that were taken,” police wrote.
The department said releasing the body-worn camera footage was a direct effort to combat misinformation about the incident.
The department emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing and that conclusions about criminal conduct must be based on facts and evidence — not viral posts.
“We recognize that any report involving a juvenile and a possible abduction is concerning to the public,” the department said. “We welcome legitimate questions about how we serve our community.”