Man Picks Up Friend’s Daughter, Accidentally Kidnaps Wrong Girl

Gloucester City, PA – A well-intentioned New Jersey man agreed to pick up a friend’s daughter from school, and ended up nearly being charged for kidnapping after picking up the wrong girl.

Art Deaner picked up the wrong Courtney from school, but it was all a misunderstanding. He had agreed to retrieve a friend’s 6-year-old daughter as a personal favor, and got 9-year-old Courtney Durr into his vehicle. The problem here is that he needed to get Courtney Fetter, reports MSN.

Apparently, Deaner had no idea what the girl he was after looked like.

“I told her I was looking for Courtney,'” Deaner recalled after spotting the wrong Courtney. “And the young girl said her name was Courtney.”

Translation: Deaner hopped out of the car, said “you’ll do,” and scooped up a light-haired girl.

Joking aside, Deaner realized his mistake when he asked the girl about a recent trip Courtney Fetter had taken to Maine with her mom, reports NY Daily.

“He was like, ‘You weren’t with Aunt Mary in Maine?'” Courtney Durr said. “No, I would never have been in Maine.”

“I got the wrong Courtney,” Deaner said.

Realizing his mistake, Deaner turned around to take Courtney Durr back, but police were already in hot pursuit. A crossing guard had called them after seeing Durr jump into a suspicious vehicle.

Deaner was in fact arrested, but after he explained the mix-up, the police let him go. Both girls were returned to their respective families, and Courtney Durr’s mother said that she forgave Deaner for the mistake.

For Courtney Durr, the incident reminded her of an ancient childhood gospel:

“Don’t go in someone’s car when you don’t know them,” she said.