Man offers woman a ride. Police say she tries to kidnap his baby

Police in Rochester, N.H., arrested Joanne Shaw on Saturday.

A New Hampshire woman attempted to kidnap a 1-year-old on Saturday morning after the child’s father offered the woman a ride, the Rochester Police Department said in a statement.

The 52-year-old man was driving down Washington Street with his daughter around 9 a.m. when he saw the woman — whom police identified at Joanne Shaw — walking in the roadway and asked her if she needed a lift, police said. Shaw accepted and got into the car.

Shaw then told the driver that she was going to take his child and tried to unbuckle the baby while the car was moving, police said. In a struggle that followed, Shaw grabbed the man’s keys and broke them in half before fleeing on foot with the baby after the vehicle stopped, police said. The father caught up to Shaw, who then punched him twice in the face, police said.

Police officers then arrived and arrested Shaw, and the baby was returned to her father unharmed, police say.

Shaw is being held on $5,000 cash bail on charges of kidnapping, assault, criminal mischief, and resisting arrest. She is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday in Strafford County Superior Court.