Officer spots car, rescues kidnapped boy

NORTH PORT — Alert authorities are being credited with spotting a car that was part of a statewide search and rescuing a boy who had reportedly been kidnapped.

It happened late Monday, according to reports from the North Port Police Department.

The department got word from the Florida Highway Patrol that officers across the state were searching for a white Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Robert P. Renauld.

The man was wanted in Edgewater, Florida, for kidnapping his 2-year-old son, Rowan, in violation of a court order, the report states.

North Port officers Bradley Greene and Christopher Kelley were at the Sumter Boulevard on-ramp for Interstate 75 and spotted the vehicle headed north on the highway.

Once the officers were able to confirm the license plate, the call went out over the radio and other officers joined to stop the car. Both Renauld and the child were in the car.

Police Sgt. David Brown got the young boy out of the car safely, the report states. Renauld was taken into custody.

Meanwhile, the Edgewater Police Department obtained a warrant for Renauld. He was charged with kidnapping and escorted to the Sarasota County Jail.

Police notified Rowan's mother, Brittany Ownby, who drove to North Port to pick up her son.

"She was extremely grateful for the work involved in locating her son," North Port Police Public Information Officer Josh Taylor stated. "We too are proud of the work done by our officers to make sure this child was located and safely returned. This could have been a much different situation."