West Plains, MO. – Late on the night of Tuesday, July 23, 2024, Joseph Raider kidnapped a two-year-old child. Charges are now pending for the man after he was apprehended early Wednesday morning. He is now being held on a 24-hour hold after the Amber Alert was canceled.
According to a press release from the West Plains Police Department, Raider was located by a citizen in the West Plains area. At approximately 6:53 Wednesday morning, officers were called to a possible sighting of Paxton and Joseph in the 3700 block of U.S. Highway 63 North. After the police arrived, the local business owner of Lynch Equipment told the officers that Raider and the missing 2-year-old had entered his business. He stated that he had immediately locked them inside the building and called the authorities.
Raider was immediately placed under arrest while the child was medically evaluated and then released to her mother. Charges of parental kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child are currently pending through the Howell County Prosecutor’s Office. Police state that the child was in danger while she was with Joseph Raider.
The Amber Alert was called off around 7:19 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
