PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland dad is asking the city to do more to end illegal camping and public drug use after he says a woman tried to kidnap his daughter at a local park on Sunday evening.
"Stop this woman and get my daughter back, now," said Scott Mares, recalling the words that flashed through mind during the incident.
Mares said he had brought his 7-year-old daughter to the playground at Couch Park at 551 Northwest 19th Avenue. At around 6 p.m., he said, a woman wearing nothing but a t-shirt approached the play structure.
"So I called 911, because it's totally inappropriate to have a half-naked woman climbing on a structure, doing flips, falling down, all sorts of stuff with kids," said Mares.
While he was on the phone with dispatchers, Mares said the woman grabbed his daughter and tried to run off with her.
"The woman literally got five steps before I grabbed the back of her head by her ponytail, put her down on the ground, and got my daughter and got her out of there," said Mares.
Police told KGW the woman was having a mental health crisis and was hospitalized on a police officer hold. Mares said his daughter was scared but not injured.
"Had this been an adult male on crack with a weapon, this could have been totally a different outcome," said Mares.
Just last month, neighbors reported an incident involving a man bringing a machete near Couch Park. They said he used it to threaten people as they walked by. Neighbors held a rally to demonstrate against increased illegal activity in the area. They noted a persistent presence of illegal camping and open drug use in the park, and said the city's response to it has been slow.
"It's pretty sad," said neighbor Kerry Duff. "I'm hoping neighbors getting together can change things, we can make a presence in the park and take our park back."
Police said they didn't have probable cause to arrest the man in that incident, but they did take his machete. They also said they would ramp up patrols around the park.
Mares said much more still needs to be done.
"I really want the city of Portland to really start working toward a better solution in solving the homeless problem," he said. "Because now a child's been involved."