The emotional moment police rescued a 6-year-old girl who had been abducted in Kentucky, US, was caught on bodycam footage.
The girl had been out on her front yard riding her bike when she was grabbed and put into a vehicle a few minutes earlier.
Much to the relief ofeveryone involved, the ordeal did not last long as police quickly found the car, arrested the driver and rescued the girl.
Bodycam footage shows the moment Officer Jason Burba approached the car, after the suspect had been taken into custody, and opened the passenger door to find the scared 6-year-old girl sitting there.
"I want my daddy," the girl can be heard saying as police save her from the kidnapper. Photo / NBC
The officer says hello to the girl and reassures her, then picks her up and takes her away from the vehicle.
In an interview after the incident, which took place on July 2, Burba recalled he did not know what to expect when he opened the passenger door, as the windows were tinted and he could not see inside.
"When I approached the vehicle, I didn't know what was going to be behind that door. The windows, the tint was so dark," the officer told local NBC affiliate WAVE.
According to witness reports from neighbours, the man appeared out of nowhere and yanked the girl off her bike by her collar.
The neighbours managed to write down part of the licence plate, which helped police reach the vehicle within minutes.
In interviews after the incident, visibly upset officers recalled the moment they rescued the girl, pointing out it was particularly emotional because they were fathers of young children too.
"It's like the world stops," Burba said. "It's like every second feels like hours."
Another officer on the scene described it as "overwhelming". "Especially when you hear her crying, it's a gut check," he said.
The ordeal reportedly lasted about nine minutes.
A 40-year-old man was arrested and charged with kidnapping.
