5 yr. old Natalie Flores abducted and found on Christmas Day!!/ Larry Jon Ladwig held without bond

Suspect identified in kidnapping of US girl
AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writer
Published: 10:24 a.m., Saturday, December 26, 2009

PHOENIX (AP) — 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 told reporters on 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.



Ladwig was booked into jail early Saturday on charges of kidnapping, sexual molestation of a child, aggravated assault of a police officer and felony flight. It's unclear whether Ladwig has a lawyer, and the Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request to interview him.

Statistically, Hill said if police don't recover a child abducted by a stranger within the first several hours, "chances are slim of recovering them alive."

"We really did have a Christmas miracle," he said.

The girl was rescued Friday night, more than seven hours after police believe Ladwig kidnapped her while she was playing outside a Phoenix apartment building.

The Associated Press is not reporting the girl's name because she may be the victim of a sex crime. The AP had named the girl after her abduction Friday.

When Burns' spotted Ladwig's pickup, he gave chase and alerted the force. Officers put spike strips across the road several blocks away that punctured Ladwig's tires, causing him to crash on the roadside.

Ladwig took off on foot but was caught and arrested a block away after a brief struggle during which Hill said he punched an officer in the face.

"It makes you feel good," Burns said of his part in the girl's rescue. "It takes a while to soak in."

Police received the call that the girl had been taken early Friday afternoon. An Amber Alert was issued, and authorities began combing the area on foot, by car and with helicopters.

Hill said the child had been playing in a common area at the apartment complex with her two sisters, ages 7 and 9, when a man parked his brown pickup in a nearby parking lot and walked over to them carrying a camera.

He said the man violently pulled down the 7-year-old's pants, took a photo of her, then grabbed the 5-year-old and threw her into the truck through a window.

"That's pretty doggone violent," Hill said. "He's a weapon himself ... (The girl) has got a lot to go through now. She's not unscarred from this, obviously in a number of ways. She's got a long road ahead of her."

After the kidnapping, the 5-year-old's older sister went to a neighbor's apartment and pounded on the door, The Arizona Republic reported. The woman who answered, Donna Reed, said the girl was carrying a ball and appeared to be shaking.

"She said some man just took her little sister," Reed told the newspaper. "She was a nervous wreck."

Reed called the police.

The three sisters live with an aunt, who has legal custody of them, Hill said. The girls' parents live separately out of state.

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The kids were outside, alone playing in the common area... kids really are not safe anywhere it seems. Cannot believe the good news she is home safe. Some good therapy and hopefully she will learn to live a normal life. thank God she still has a life.
That sick you know what, lock him up, throw away the key and castrate him.

Hurrah! Thank God they found her and have got the perp off the streets!

The man accused of snatching a five-year-old girl on Christmas Day will not be getting out of jail anytime soon.

A judge ordered 45-year-old Larry Jon Ladwig be held without bond. He is facing multiple charges, including molestation and kidnapping along with aggravated assault on a cop.

Court records show the little girl told investigators Ladwig rubbed her privates and a medical exam found injuries. Ladwig admitted having the girl in his truck and that he was trying to take her home.

Ladwig was on parole after doing time for drugs and was released in July.

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A transient drug addict arrested on Christmas on suspicion of child molestation several hours after a 5-year-old went missing from her family's Phoenix apartment complex was convicted twice in the past five years for possession of methamphetamine, court records show.

Larry Jon Ladwig, 45, was on parole after his July release from the Arizona Department of Corrections after serving a two-year sentence on a 2007 drug conviction. He had missed at least one meeting with his parole officer, according to authorities. His supervision was set to end in February.

Ladwig made his initial court appearance Saturday. Flanked by two detention officers, he stood silent and stared at the floor as a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ordered him held without bond because of the allegations of sexual contact with a minor under 15.

Investigators said Ladwig punched one officer in the face during his Saturday night arrest after a vigilant Phoenix officer spotted a truck based on the description from an Amber Alert on the girl's kidnapping from an apartment complex near Cactus Road and 19th Avenue.

"During the interview with (Ladwig), he admitted to having the girl in his vehicle and stated he was trying to take her home," investigators wrote in the probable cause statement for his arrest.

Prior to his Christmas arrest, Ladwig was arrested in August 2007 during a traffic stop near Hatcher Road and Seventh Avenue. The Phoenix officer found a small baggie of meth inside a larger plastic bag containing Ladwig's ID and credit cards, according to court records.

Three years earlier, a resident alerted police to Ladwig's vehicle parked behind a strip mall on West Bell Road. He was found passed out with meth and syringes on the dashboard. He was covered in pornographic magazines, "wearing women's panties and a woman's halter top," police wrote in court records.

Police said Ladwig also had prior convictions in California. Court records suggested he had a history of burglary, theft and other crimes.

The girl abducted on Christmas was back in the custody of her aunt, whom she lives with.

A forensic medical examination showed she suffered an injury consistent with sexual abuse. She also told investigators Ladwig touched her inappropriately, according to court records.

Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said investigators suggested Ladwig could be linked to other cases of sexual molestation, however no additional connection was made.

Phoenix officer Mike Burns, a K-9 handler who spotted Ladwig's vehicle Friday night, was expected to receive a commendation for his work in Ladwig's arrest.

Ladwig faces charges of kidnapping, child abuse, aggravated assault on a police officer and unlawful flight from law enforcement, in addition to child molestation.

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OK, so this guy has a twisted mind. Was it already twisted before he started doing the meth, or is this a part of what happens when people do meth. I know of a young man who is into meth, and his behaviors have seriously changed since he started doing this. He has become quite violent, and has no regard for anything or anyone. I am wondering if a lot of the people who kill, have used meth.

Good point, Marica.

by Marica Today at 2:47 am Was it already twisted before he started doing the meth, or is this a part of what happens when people do meth.

(comment on a blog by a former meth user).
Meth makes you so horny you could f**k the crack of dawn!

Sex on Meth, Yes all to often I would get excited and later on annoyed. Locking myself in my room and watching porn and going at it for 72 hours.

On the fourth day I became delusional. I was sleepy Yet annoyed that I still wanted to go another round. My Heart felt like it was going to stop any moment. Though the Meth in me was saying one more time one more time.
One of the problems with Sex on Meth. Its like being thirsty and not being able to quench Your thirst.
No matter how much water I would drink I was still thirsty.

I've heard that sexual abuse of children in Meth houses is a real problem.

WOW!! This is just sick sick sick!

As a former Meth user, I can not say I was more sexual then normal, although I did see many Pervs in my time on that drug. I think it was most likely a Man's issue while on the drug, then a women. I was just drawn to that addiction and the way it made me feel. Then it got so depressing that I had to rely on a drug just to get me through the day! DRUGS are BAD MMMMKKK!!!

A 45-year-old northwest Valley man accused of abducting and molesting a 5-year-old girl on Christmas has been charged with eight felonies. The charges against Larry Jon Ladwig include kidnapping, molestation of a child and child abuse - all Class 2 felonies and considered dangerous crimes against children. They were made public Wednesday.

Ladwig also faces charges of unlawful flight from law enforcement, aggravated assault, possession or use of dangerous drugs, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a criminal complaint released by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Ladwig was being held without bond given the nature of the allegations.

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Let's get a better look at this scum of the earth.

I can't stand to look at his ugly mug. He makes me sick. How could he do this?

Sometimes I cannot believe we are all of the same animal species!----Too many like him in this world, may God help us.

This case shows what a good job LE can do when they do everything right and it all falls into place. The window of getting a child back alive dwindles with every hour. Merry Christmas, precious. May your captor suffer and suffer here on earth and in hell. Maniac.

What concerns me is that I worry when a child is raped that it will affect them negatively the rest of their lives. I pray this is not the case.

CritterFan1 wrote:This case shows what a good job LE can do when they do everything right and it all falls into place. The window of getting a child back alive dwindles with every hour. Merry Christmas, precious. May your captor suffer and suffer here on earth and in hell. Maniac.

Amen!