Police say the mother recovered her 1-year-old before officers found the suspect at a nearby bus stop.
TULSA, Okla. — A 50-year-old man was arrested after police say he took a 1-year-old from a woman’s shopping cart inside a Walmart and began walking away before the child’s mother confronted him and recovered the child.
Tulsa police identified the man as Marshall Dixon. Officers responded around 5:08 p.m. Sept. 8 to a report of a kidnapping at the Walmart near 68th Street and Memorial Drive, according to the Police Department. Dixon was later booked into the Tulsa County Jail on a kidnapping complaint. Police emphasized that the arrest is not a conviction.
The mother, whose name has not been released, told officers she was shopping with her two children when a man approached her and briefly spoke about the children. Police said the man then removed the 1-year-old from her shopping cart, placed the child in his own cart and started walking away.
The woman quickly confronted the man and took her child back, according to police. She then went into a store bathroom with both children, locked the door and called for help. Walmart employees also became involved, removed the man from the store and called 911, police said.
Responding officers found a man matching the description of the suspect sitting at a nearby bus stop. Police said that when officers questioned Dixon about the reported incident, he responded, “Yeah, I did that.” Officers then arrested him.
Tulsa police released images connected to the investigation, including surveillance imagery from inside the Walmart. News reports citing the department said the images showed the encounter near shopping carts inside the store. Authorities have not publicly identified the mother or either child, and police have not announced a suspected motive for the alleged act.
Public reporting has used both “kidnapping” and “attempted abduction” to describe the incident. The available records show that Dixon was arrested and booked on a kidnapping complaint, but an arrest or jail booking is separate from the filing of a formal criminal case by prosecutors.
Law&Crime reported Sept. 11 that Dixon was no longer appearing in the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office jail records it reviewed and that a case against him had not yet appeared on the court docket. Other reporting also found that he was no longer listed in the jail database. The available information did not establish why he was no longer listed or whether prosecutors had made a later charging decision.
Authorities have released few additional details about what led up to the encounter. No relationship between Dixon and the family has been publicly reported, and police have not announced a motive. The mother’s account, the store response and Dixon’s alleged statement to officers remain the primary publicly released details underlying the arrest.
As of Sept. 12, no publicly verified court date, bond information or formal charging document had been identified in the reporting reviewed for this story. Dixon is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court, and further decisions in the case rest with prosecutors and the courts.