Two young girls from Missouri were reportedly abducted while walking home from school by a woman who lured them under the pretense of searching for her lost cat. The woman allegedly took them into her basement and refused to let them leave.
Tina Marie Scott faces charges of second-degree kidnapping and two counts of fourth-degree assault, as documented in Saline County Jail records. Scott has entered a plea of not guilty according to court documents.
On May 11, Scott allegedly approached the girls with her story of the missing cat. One of the girls was hesitant to assist but was unable to dissuade her friend from following along, as detailed in a probable cause statement shared with Oxygen.
As they neared Scott’s residence, she reportedly forcibly pulled one of the girls inside. Both were then taken to the basement under the guise of looking for the cat. Scott supposedly hinted at checking under her car but prevented the girls from leaving once they headed for the door.
Attempting to involve the girls further, Scott suggested that one of them call local radio stations about the missing pet. Seizing this opportunity, the girl claimed she would make the call outside, then managed to flee to a nearby business to ask an employee to contact 911.
Meanwhile, Scott allegedly asked the other girl—who remained in the basement—for her bra size and to remove her shirt, but she refused.
The girl tried running out of the home when Scott went upstairs to use the bathroom, but the front door was blocked by clutter, according to the affidavit. She then tried escaping out the back door, but Scott was allegedly standing there and began “screaming and yelling” at her.
The girl then glanced out the window and saw her friend with an unknown man, who started waving at her and gesturing for her to join them, per the statement. That’s when Scott allegedly grabbed the girl’s face and demanded that she clean her cars and home.
She then pretended that the man across the street was a family member and said she needed to go to him, before slowly walking out the back door and running to safety.
The girls were reunited with their parents and were unharmed, except one sustained bruising on her arm, according to the affidavit.
Scott was arrested at a local business where she had allegedly been threatening the employees, police wrote in the affidavit, adding that she refused to answer questions about the girls.
Scott told police that she did not have a permanent residence and was homeless, according to the affidavit.
An attorney for Scott could not be immediately reached by Oxygen.