Share and Follow
A man from California has been arrested following a disturbing sequence of events in which he allegedly assaulted his former spouse, abducted their 4-year-old son, and struck two pedestrians with his car while attempting to escape.
The episode triggered an Amber Alert on Monday evening, prompting authorities to urgently seek out 40-year-old Daniel Hutchens. According to the Monterey Police Department, a be-on-the-lookout alert was swiftly disseminated for Hutchens.
Reports indicate that Hutchens’ ex-wife, accompanied by their 4-year-old and 1-year-old children, was visiting Monterey shortly after 7 p.m. on Monday. Hutchens is said to have trailed them in a rental car. Once his ex-wife parked at a motel, he positioned his vehicle nearby.
In a shocking turn of events, Hutchens, reportedly masked, assaulted his ex-wife while she was outside her car, as per police statements. During the altercation, he forcibly took her watch and forced his way into her vehicle.
In the ensuing chaos, Hutchens seized the older child and hurried back to his rental car, whisking the child away as he fled the scene.
The ex-wife began yelling for help, and a nearby witness ran to Hutchens’ car to try to stop him. The witness opened the car door, but Hutchens said he had a gun and would shoot. As other witnesses began approaching, Hutchens “accelerated in reverse at a high rate of speed,” striking two pedestrians with the open car door and knocking them to the ground.
Officers in nearby Seaside spotted Hutchens’ vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but he fled, eventually turning onto US Highway 1 and hitting speeds over 100 mph. At one point, he even called 911 and threatened that he had a gun and would not surrender.
Hutchens also drove the wrong way on the highway and eventually exited into Castroville, where officers briefly lost sight of the vehicle. They soon found it abandoned, and witnesses reported seeing the driver flee the scene on foot with the little boy.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the search, with officers deploying drones to assist. Shortly after 10 p.m., 911 calls in Castroville reported a man walking with a child. The witnesses said they attempted to follow them but didn’t see where they went. Shortly before 10:30 p.m., a drone spotted the pair near North Monterey County Middle School.
Office converged and took Hutchens into custody. The boy was checked out by paramedics on the scene and was reunited with his mother.
Hutchens, a native of California, was charged with kidnapping, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, felony evasion, and felony child abuse. He was ordered held without bail.