SEQUIM — Two brothers who said they staged a fake child abduction at Carrie Blake Park have posted a new video of the event and apologized “to who ever was at the park.”
“We made this video to help prevent and to show how real an abduction can be,” according to text that accompanies the video, which includes Facebook links to Jason and Jeremy Holden at the bottom.
The video is posted at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-fake-abduction and on their TwinzTV YouTube channel. (You can view it at the end of this article.)
“We needed real reactions and didn’t mean to harm anyone,” the text said.
“Don’t worry the little boy is in on it!”
‘Stack of media inquiries’
Sequim Police Chief Bill Dickinson said Wednesday he had “a stack of media inquiries” that he was continuing to respond to about the Saturday incident, including from major TV networks.
Brothers Jason, Jeremy and Jesse Holden “are people who are of interest to us” as his officers continue to look into the fake kidnapping, Dickinson said.
The mother of the child also allegedly was involved.
Two of the brothers are twins.
The investigation, which Dickinson hopes is completed by Friday, could result in misdemeanor charges of dangerous conduct or failing to obtain a temporary permit to fake the kidnapping at the park, he said.
Onlookers said a van driven by two masked men pulled into the park at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
One man jumped out, grabbed a 3- or 4-year-old boy that police said was the man’s son, then sped off with the other man in the van before the pair returned to explain their actions to outraged parents, one of whom had chased the vehicle for about a block.
Misdemeanor, not felony, charges are most likely if the evidence supports filing them, Dickinson said.
The crimes carry maximum sentences of one year in jail and up to $5,000 fines.
People who were at the park still must be questioned in the investigation, Dickinson said.
Because the two men who fake-kidnapped the child were masked, investigators also must determine their identities, Dickinson said.
“We don’t know that yet, if there are a pair of twins involved, or which one is which,” Dickinson said.
Efforts to reach the Holdens on Wednesday were unsuccessful on Facebook, at Jeremy Holden’s residence east of Port Angeles and at his pawn shop in Tacoma.
“The Holdens are a long-established family on the Peninsula,” Dickinson added.
While their position was that they were making an educational video, Dickinson said that was not in keeping with other videos they posted on YouTube.
“It appears most if not all the videos they have published appear to be pranks,” he said.
They include “April fools prank back fires!!” and “Farting ON the Public Prank part 2.”
Dickinson said that by posting the fake abduction video, which includes abduction statistics, the brothers essentially are preparing a defense if they are charged with a crime.
“I suspect they realize they may have crossed the line on this one,” he said.
“I think what they are saying is, ‘Here, this is not a prank.’”
Warned officers
The Police Department received a call a few minutes before the fake kidnapping occurred to warn officers it would be taking place.
“When we initially responded to this, they told us at the time that they were doing an awareness video, and we did not have any reason to believe otherwise,” Dickinson said.
“They are clearly indicating that they think this is a noble effort on their part.”
Commenters’ reactions to the videos varied on the Holdens’ YouTube channel.
“Let’s start accosting women on the streets and pulling them into dark allies to teach people about rape awareness!” said one person.
Said another: “The whole point was to prove how easy it is to happen anywhere at anytime.
“They did that perfectly fine.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE — The cover shot on a new video posted late Tuesday shows one of two men “abducting”‘ a boy from a park in Sequim on Saturday. (This video requires Flash. If you can’t view it, click on the YouTube link, http://youtu.be/UfDOGh9rhxs )
