Five arrested after teen kidnapped, dropped off in field: Police

Five people are in custody after a 15-year-old male was kidnapped in Woodstock and later dropped off in a field outside the city by suspects who stole a car from the teen’s home, Woodstock police say.

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“There is no evidence to indicate this was a targeted attack however the investigation is ongoing,” Woodstock police said Friday.

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The teen was walking at about 10:50 am Thursday on Fyfe Avenue near Pavey Street in south Woodstock when a white Chevrolet Equinox pulled up, police said.

People inside the SUV began talking to the teen. One person got out, grabbed the teen, and threw him into the back seat, police said.

The suspects drove to Upper Thames Drive near the Pittock Conservation Area and met up with people in a reddish-orange SUV, police said.

The suspects stole a vehicle from the teen’s residence then left the teen in a field on the 43rd Line near Oxford Road 17 about five kilometers west of Woodstock, police said.

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The teen was taken to hospital for assessment.

Woodstock police responded at about 2 pm to a report of a weapons incident in the area of ​​Upper Thames Drive. Police advised people inside homes and businesses to secure their doors and stay inside. The “hold and secure” was later lifted.

Later in the day, Middlesex OPP recovered the stolen vehicle and arrested the driver, police said.

A 21-year-old Edmonton, Alta., man faces 11 charges, including armed robbery, using a firearm while committing an offense, kidnapping while using firearms, two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats, breaking and entering and theft of more than $5,000.

On Friday, OPP officers in Dryden near the Manitoba border arrested four suspects in the Equinox, police said.

Additional charges and information about people detained will be released when available, police said.

Investigators are still searching for two suspects and the reddish-orange SUV, police said.

Anyone with information about the suspects’ identity or location is asked to call Woodstock police at 519-537-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Police say the suspects should not be approached.

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