Lonoke, Arkansas – Savannah Grace Childress was found in Arkansas on Saturday night after a chaotic sequence where her kidnapper allegedly shot a police officer and left before she escaped to safety.
William Robert Ice, 38, is the alleged kidnapper and died on Sunday in a hospital, according to a statement from the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities found that Ice was found near a McDonalds restaurant in Lonoke, Arkansas, near Interstate 40.
Inside the vehicle, the officers found Ice, who they believe killed himself sometime after leaving.
Authorities said that on Saturday, two Lonoke police officers recognized a Dodge sport utility vehicle linked to Childress’s disappearance. The vehicle was parked in the restaurant near I-40. Officers approached the vehicle and Ice aimed a gun at them, shooting and seriously injuring an officer. The second officer came out unscathed.
An Arkansas state policeman saw the vehicle pull out of the parking lot and started chasing him. The ice ended up falling on a snow bank, where the vehicle was disabled. Childress, a passenger, got out of the vehicle and ran to a state policeman.
Authorities said Ice was also wanted in at least two states in connection with other cases of infant predators. Investigators found that Ice had taken Childress from his home in Denton on February 11.
Childress, 14, had been missing for more than a week. Davidson County authorities issued an Amber Alert for her on February 12. On Sunday, special agents will help Childress return to North Carolina.
Ice’s body was submitted to the Arkansas State Criminal Laboratory to determine the form of death. The injured policeman is in stable condition in a hospital.
Ice had an address at the Jackson Center in Pennsylvania and was wanted by the Pennsylvania authorities.
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