The father of an allegedly kidnapped 14-year-old girl is in jail in Lonoke County, Arkansas, after a shooting that left the reported kidnapper dead. The father said he found the man with his daughter, and a confrontation broke out as he tried to rescue her.
Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley said in a Facebook post that his deputies received a call on October 8 about a missing 14-year-old girl. As the deputies were en route to the home of the missing girl, they received a call regarding a shooting.
Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office Press Release
Sheriff’s office officials said they received the call of the missing child at 1:12 Tuesday morning, KARK reported. While on their way to the incident, deputies learned that the girl’s father, Aaron Spencer, found the girl in a car allegedly driven by Michael Fosler.
Officials say there was an altercation between the men, leading to Fosler being shot and killed. Fosler reportedly died at the scene.
In a post on a now-deleted GoFundMe page, the girl’s mother said her family was awakened at 1 a.m. by the sound of her daughter’s dog barking. The parents checked her room and found she was not in her bed. They called 911.
Screenshot from now-deleted GoFundMe Page
She explained that earlier this year, her daughter was “groomed and raped” by a 67-year-old man. That man was arrested and charged but is out on a $50,000 bond awaiting trial in December.
The mother says her husband “went blindly searching for our 14-year-old.”
“By the grace of God, he passed the predator’s vehicle on the road and followed them, trying to get him to pull over with our child,” she explained. “My husband was able to catch up to him and retrieve our child. In the process, he was attacked and did what he needed to protect himself and our daughter.”
Deputies arrived and took Spencer into custody on what Sheriff Staley described as a “preliminary charge of first-degree murder,” pending his further investigation. The sheriff said he would not “advocate for any specific charges.” He explained that the prosecutor would determine if formal charges would be filed.
Thursday afternoon, the sheriff said Spencer has not been formally charged. He is being held in the Lonoke County jail on a preliminary charge of first-degree murder.
THV CBS11 reports that no information is available as to whether the family had any connection to Fosler before the incident. Officials confirmed that the teenager is safe.
Arkansas Code § 5-2-607 (2023) provides that a person may use deadly physical force if that person reasonably believes the other person is “committing or about to commit a felony involving physical force or violence.
“This is a tragic situation, and my thoughts and prayers are with all those involved,” Sheriff Staley said in his video statement.
The sheriff said the investigation remains ongoing and committed to providing additional information as it becomes available.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
