JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — First responders credit a good Samaritan for alerting police to a kidnapping attempt at a Jefferson County park in mid-June — and for his vivid descriptions of the situation to a 911 dispatcher.
"There's a guy, looks like he's holding up a couple, maybe has a gun or a knife or something," the caller said.
The caller told 9NEWS he was on a morning run in the otherwise nearly deserted Fehringer Ranch Disc Golf Course south of Bear Creek Lake Park when he saw a man appear to ambush a couple on a hike.
"This is not good," he told the 911 dispatcher.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said Kerry Endsley, 73, tried to kidnap the couple. According to an affidavit, he had a history of harassing the female victim and wore a fake beard as a disguise. He put a nylon leash on the woman, deputies said.
The good Samaritan said the park is typically busy with people exercising and playing disc golf, but he happened to be the only one around when Endsley approached the couple.
"Should I yell that the cops are coming?" he asked the dispatcher at one point.
"Um, only if you feel safe," she replied. "Because if he has a gun, I don't want you yelling at him, pointing it at you."
"Fair enough," the caller replied. A moment later, he yelled "COPS! COPS!"
At one point, the affidavit said, the male victim grabbed the gun away from Endsley.
"They’re running away," the caller said.
"Who’s running away? The suspect or the people?" the dispatcher asked.
"Both the people," the caller said. "The suspect is walking after the man. He must have a gun. They’re kind of swerving."
When deputies arrived six minutes later, the caller kept the dispatcher updated with a description of the suspect, his location and his actions as police approached.
"Suspect is running, cop is right behind him. Suspect is fighting with the cop," he said at one point.
An officer fired at Endsley, missed and hit a nearby home instead, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies eventually took Endsley into custody after deploying a stun gun.
"Suspect is down. I don't know if it was like a taser. It looks like a taser," the caller told 911. "Holy cannoli. Holy smokes."
In Endsley's car, deputies found handcuffs and a mattress.
They said they only knew to respond to the scene because the passerby called 911.
Endsley remains in the Jefferson County jail facing multiple charges, including kidnapping. He is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing July 19.
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