Idaho man charged with kidnapping after allegedly trying to take 2 children from park

A 54-year-old Idaho man was arrested Friday evening after he allegedly tried to kidnap two children from a Treasure Valley park, according to a news release from the Caldwell Police Department.

Sidney L. Baker, of Caldwell, was arrested shortly after 8 p.m. The Idaho Statesman reports he remained in the Canyon County Jail on Sunday facing charges of attempted kidnapping and lewd conduct with a child under 16.

According to the release, officers responded to Sebree Park, near Everett Street and 12th Avenue, on Friday after receiving a report of child enticement. The caller told police a man had picked up his 3-year-old daughter and was attempting to take the girl and her 5-year-old brother to his vehicle.

The children were reportedly at the park with their older siblings, who ran to a nearby residence and alerted their father. He confronted the man, later identified as Baker, who set the children down and fled to a nearby church. Officers arrested Baker as he was leaving the church.

Baker is charged with attempted kidnapping in the second degree, which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. The maximum sentence for conviction on a charge of lewd conduct with a child under 16 is life in prison.