Man kidnaps 11-year-old and flees 100 miles before he’s shot dead, Tennessee cops say

A man kidnapped an 11-year-old girl in Tennessee, then fled 100 miles with her before he was shot dead near the Georgia border, authorities said.

Law enforcement issued an endangered child alert for an 11-year-old who was last seen Jan. 30 in Knox County, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Investigators learned the child was traveling south with 38-year-old Edward Ahrens on Interstate 75 toward Georgia, according to a news release from the TBI.

Law enforcement agencies across state lines began pursuing Ahrens as he took Exit 1 toward East Ridge in Hamilton County, Tennessee at around 1 a.m. on Feb. 2, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Ahrens refused to surrender and tried to run over multiple officers, investigators said. In response, at least four officers shot into the vehicle, striking Ahrens, according to a preliminary report from the TBI.

Ahrens was pronounced dead at a hospital, and the child was uninjured.

McClatchy News could not immediately verify the relationship between the 11-year-old and Ahrens.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident.

Three Knox County deputies sustained non-life-threatening injuries when Ahrens tried to hit them with his vehicle, the sheriff’s office said in the release.

This marks the second time in less than a week law enforcement killed a kidnapping suspect in a chase in Hamilton County, according to the TBI.

This story was originally published February 2, 2024 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Man kidnaps 11-year-old and flees 100 miles before he’s shot dead, Tennessee cops say."