Bozeman Man Arrested For Startling Crime Involving Child

The Bozeman Police Department has released details of a recent arrest involving a man who allegedly stole a vehicle and kidnapped a child.

Bozeman Man Arrested For Startling Crime Involving Child

During the evening Wednesday, November 19, Bozeman Police Officers were made aware of an incident the BPD patrol units were investigating. A vehicle had been stolen with a 7-year-old girl inside.

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Detectives began to search for the stolen vehicle, which was described as a tan Hyundai Elantra with Montana license plates. During the search, detectives learned that the 7-year-old girl was no longer in the car and was found safe near the intersection of 4th Avenue and College Street in Bozeman. After being evaluated, the child was reunited with her family.

As officers were returning to the Bozeman Public Safety Center, they learned that the suspect has crashed the stolen vehicle on Frontage Road, just west of Bozeman. Gallatin County Sheriff Deputies and Belgrade Police Officers located the suspect and took him into custody. The suspect was identified as William Jesse Edward Stevens.

When BPD officers spoke to the father of the 7-year-old girl, her told them that he and his daughter had stopped by a taco truck earlier, and that he had left his daughter in the back seat with the car running. He estimated that he had only been away from the car for 3-4 minutes.

While waiting for food, a man (the suspect) walked up and said something that the gave the father a bad feeling. Shortly after, the suspect got into the vehicle and drove away with the man's daughter.

The father attempted to call his daughter on her cell phone, and was finally able to reach her after 10-12 attempts. He asked he to point the phone out the window so that he could determine her location. Upon doing so, he realized that the car was parked, and told his daughter to exit the vehicle immediately.

Stevens has been charged with Child endangerment, Kidnapping, Criminal Child Endangerment (DUI with Child), and Motor Vehicle Theft (3rd offense). Thanks to the Bozeman Police, Gallatin Country Sheriff's Office, and Belgrade Police for doing their part to keep our community safe.