WORCESTER, Mass. (AP/WHDH) — Police in Massachusetts say a 7-year-old girl was kidnapped from her grandparents’ home and thrown from a bridge into a lake but survived.
Police say the girl was taken at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday from the Worcester home by 35-year-old family friend Joshua Hubert.
Investigators say she was put in a car, choked and then thrown off a bridge into Lake Quinsigamond.
Officials said the girl fell about 50 feet into the lake and survived. She then swam to shore in the town of Shrewsbury and ran to a woman’s house for help. Prosecutors said the girl was in her pajamas and soaking wet when she knocked on the woman’s front door at around 4 a.m. The woman’s friends said they are amazed that the girl survived the fall and was then able to swim to safety.
Police say she suffered “visible injuries” that were not life-threatening.
Hubert is charged with kidnapping. A not-guilty plea was entered at his arraignment on Monday. He was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing set for Thursday.
Prosecutors say Hubert could face additional charges.
Hubert’s lawyer says he maintains his innocence.
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