PHOENIX — Phoenix police Officer Mike Burns had just finished searching a desert area for signs of a 5-year-old girl and the man who had kidnapped her as she played with her sisters on Christmas Day.
No luck. But as Burns drove down a north Phoenix street, he spotted a truck that matched descriptions of the kidnapper’s vehicle, and a man and a little girl inside.
When the truck made an abrupt turn and sped off, Burns knew he couldn’t let it out of his sight.
“There was no doubt in my mind,” Burns said Saturday, “If he disappears, we may not get her back.”
About 10 minutes later, 45-year- old Larry Jon Ladwig was under arrest, and the frightened girl was rescued and taken to a Phoenix police facility that aids young victims of crime, where it was determined she had been molested. The girl was treated and is back home with her family, police Sgt. Andy Hill said.
“We really did have a Christmas miracle,” he said.
