(UPDATE 4:59 p.m. Monday)
GILES COUNTY, Va. - Authorities have arrested the woman they believe kidnapped a Giles County 2-year-old boy from a church nursery on Sunday morning.
Giles County Morgan Millirons announced on Monday afternoon that 44-year-old Nancy Renee Fridley, of Clifton Forge, has been arrested and charged with one count of abduction and one count of felony child endangerment.
During the investigation, Fridley was identified as a person of interest and members of multiple law enforcement agencies set up a perimeter at an Alleghany County home on Monday afternoon.
Shortly after establishing that perimeter, authorities saw a child matching Noah’s description and they were able to safely get him.
While Noah is safe, the investigation is still ongoing.
At this time, authorities have not yet determined a motive as to why Fridley allegedly kidnapped Noah.
EMS arrived shortly after Noah’s recovery and he seemed to be fine, according to Millirons.
As a precaution, he was taken to a nearby hospital for an evaluation.
As of now, Noah has been reunited with his family.
After Noah was found, Riverview Baptist Church, where Noah was abducted from, released the following statement:
The last twenty-four hours have been a nightmare for our entire church family. It is now that we can rejoice that the child that was kidnapped from our campus yesterday has been safely returned to his parents. We commend law enforcement for their excellent work, and we praise God for answering our prayers.
Riverview Baptist Church values the safety and protection of every child. As a matter of policy, we fully cooperated with law enforcement. We are immediately examining ways to make our campus and facilities even more safe and secure for families wishing to come worship with us. We hope that this criminal act on our campus allows other churches to evaluate their own childcare safety procedures.
We believe that transparency, child safety, and accountability are essential for successful ministry, and we are fully committed to ministering to your children in a safe and responsible manner. As we do not want to interfere with the on-going work of law enforcement in this matter, this will be our only public statement at this time.
(UPDATE: 1:55 p.m. Monday)
Noah Trout, who was abducted at about noon Sunday, has been found and he is safe, according to the Giles County Sheriff’s Office
Noah is currently with FBI agents and Virginia State Police tactical team members, Chief Deputy Scott Moye said during a brief news conference at 1:45 p.m.
The video below is that news conference where we learned that Noah was found and that he is safe:
The Sheriff’s Office plans to announce more details about what led to the 2-year-old’s safe recovered at 4:30 p.m.
Authorities continue to search for 2-year-old Noah Trout, who was abducted on Sunday morning and is believed to be in extreme danger.
At 7 p.m, Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert for Noah, who, at about 11:50 a.m., was taken from Riverview Baptist Church on Big Stony Creek Road in Ripplemead, Virginia, in Giles County.
On Monday morning, the church’s senior pastor, Mike Mitchener, released the following statement:
Please join me in prayer today for the Trout family and the safe return of little Noah. Let’s also pray earnestly for the law enforcement agents working on this case.
Psalm 27 is on my heart, if you would like to join me in a moment of personal meditation this morning
Noah is greatly loved!
Mike
Mike Mitchener, Senior Pastor at Riverview Baptist Church
The Giles County Sheriff’s Office will be holding a news conference with an update at some point on Monday. What was once scheduled for 11:30 a.m. was pushed back to 1 p.m. and now, there’s no time attached to the briefing. When it happens, you can watch that update within this article, on WSLS 10 or on the 10 News app.
At the time of his abduction, authorities say he was wearing a t-shirt similar to the one in the post below, but in royal blue:
***Noah Trout Clothing Description Update*** We have received information identifying a discrepancy in Noah Trout’s...
Posted by Giles County Sheriff's Office on Sunday, May 2, 2021
Noah also has a red birthmark on the back of his neck.
The Giles County Sheriff’s Office has established 540-696-6013 as a tip line for this abduction case.
Above is a picture posted from the Giles County Sheriff’s Office that shows the woman authorities believe abducted the boy from Riverview Baptist Church on Big Stony Creek Road.
Deputies said the woman left with Noah in a dark-colored SUV or van.
Both the FBI and U.S. Marshals are assisting with the investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“The suspect is still not identifiable so this makes it just a little more of a dangerous situation,” said Chief Deputy Scott Moye with the Giles County Sheriff’s Office.
While some people have said a better image of the suspected abductor is available, the Sheriff’s Office addressed that circulating image in a statement:
“At this time there is some false information floating about Facebook. There is not an identifiable suspect at the moment. Our deputies are actively investigating and ask the public to be on the lookout for the description listed in this message.”