What Yuma police released after a kidnapping claim went viral

A viral post described a July incident involving a 16-year-old girl as an attempted kidnapping and accused Yuma police of mishandling the investigation. In August, the department released body-camera footage and disputed that account.

Here is what the public record supports, and what it does not settle.

What police say happened

According to Yuma police, officers were called to a liquor store around 1:30 a.m. on July 21 for a reported aggravated assault. The department said the teen told officers she had given a man money to buy something after a store clerk refused a sale. Another witness told police she had been trying to buy a vape.

Police said the man drove away without returning her money. The teen grabbed the driver’s window frame and held on as the car moved, then fell when it stopped. Police estimated she had been holding on for about 260 feet. Those are the department’s descriptions in the video and statement, reported by AZFamily.

The video and the investigation

The viral post also accused officers of failing to obtain store surveillance footage. Police said employees told them only the store owner could access the system. After attempts to reach the owner, department video-forensics staff recovered the footage on July 30.

That answers one specific claim about whether video was collected. It does not mean every question about the response or the underlying incident has been resolved. In its August statement, police said the investigation was ongoing and invited legitimate questions about its work.

A body-camera release can add evidence to a public conversation. It is still one piece of an investigation involving a minor, and the department’s account should be read as the department’s account. The last public update we found was its August release.