Child safe, one arrested in WP kidnapping

An Amber Alert aided in the recovery of a child and the arrest of a man on Wednesday in West Plains. Joseph A. Raider, age 30, of Birch Tree, was arrested on July 24 by West Plains Police and has been charged with felony parental kidnapping. He was released the following day on a $10,000 surety bond.

 

Howell County residents were notified by Amber Alert on Tuesday night to be on the lookout for Raider and two-year-old Paxton Raider. The mother had reported to police at 8:58 pm on July 23 that her ex-boyfriend had taken her child, according to court documents. She told police that Raider had taken her child and ran from the Casey's General Store on Gibson Avenue. 

 

She told police that she had been receiving messages from Raider threatening suicide and asking to see the child. She agreed to meet him so he could see the child. When they met up, he appeared to be intoxicated, and the two began to argue. She told police this is when Raider grabbed the child and ran across Kentucky Avenue. She lost sight of him after he ran behind Brookehaven Healthcare.

 

The following morning at 6:53 am, police received a call from a business owner on north US 63 in West Plains that he had seen Raider and the child, and he had locked them inside his business. Police arrived and took Raider into custody. Paxton was checked out by emergency medical services and returned to the care of her mother. 

 

Joseph Raider was scheduled for his initial appearance in court on Monday, July 29 before Judge Robert D. Ray at the Howell County Courthouse.