A homeless man wearing a blonde wig, makeup, a pearl necklace and high heels was arrested after he allegedly tried to abduct an 11-year-old boy outside his Ohio home, police said.
Joshua Freiermuth, 39, is accused of approaching the boy and his dog outside a home in Alliance, southeast of Akron, on Sunday and trying to lure them out, just days after the boy was released on a drug bust. WOIO reports.
“I need to talk to you,” Freiermuth allegedly told the boy, according to the police report.
When the boy refused to come near her, Freiermuth then allegedly tried to grab him. Police said Freiermuth, who sometimes goes by the name Vicky, was pictured with her face smeared with makeup.
Police say the boy managed to escape and the suspect fled the scene.
“My dog attacked my son as he grabbed him by the arm and he stumbled down the stairs,” the victim's father, Zachary Thurmond, told local media.
“He took off his high heels – my son said he was wearing white high heels – and then he ran off down the street.”
Freiermuth, who authorities described as homeless, was arrested a short time later.
The arrest comes just two days after an alleged attempted kidnapping suspect was arrested on drug charges and later released after police found methamphetamine hidden in Freiermuth's car.
Police said in this incident Freiermuth was pulled over after a call reported the suspect was attempting to talk to children in his vehicle.
A mugshot from her arrest shows Freyjamuth wearing two different styles of blonde wig and makeup.
Freyremuth was charged with attempted kidnapping in Alliance District Court on Monday but repeatedly denied trying to abduct the boy.
“I wasn't even there,” he told the judge, sporting his latest blonde wig. “I wasn't trying to kidnap anybody.”
The suspect's bail was set at $100,000 and he was barred from contact with the juvenile.
