UPDATE 9/25/2023: A trial is set for Nov. 20, 2023 for a Pierce City man accused of kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child in Monett in July.

Aaron Fryer was arrested early on July 27 after the Monett Police Department responded to a business on East Cleveland Avenue.

An 18-year-old woman from Pierce City told police that a man in a car with a small child had tried to kidnap her while she was working as a car hop at a drive-in restaurant.

During an order exchange, the woman told investigators Fryer gave her a note that read, “be calm, stay quiet, I have a gun, get in my car.”

She was scared and ran away, according to court documents, and Fryer left the area with a child later determined to be his son. The child was located safely at home with a parent.

A probable cause statement indicates Fryer told prosecutors he has a mental condition and “hears voices in his head that tell him to do things.”

A bench trial before Judge Matthew Kasper is to begin at 1 p.m. on Nov. 20.

Original Story below

MONETT, Mo. – A suspect has been arrested and charged with 2nd-degree kidnapping and 1st-degree endangering the welfare of a child in Monett, according to a press release from the Monett Police Department.

34-year-old Aaron Michael Fryer of Pierce City was arrested July 27 around 6 a.m. after the Monett Police Department responded to a business on East Cleveland Avenue.

The 18-year-old victim from Pierce City told police that a man in a car with a small child had tried to kidnap her while she was at the workplace and she had fled to a safe location.

The small child was located safe at home with a parent.