Aug 31, 2008 2:52 pm US/Eastern
Aberdeen Police Investigate Robbery & Kidnapping
ABERDEEN, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Aberdeen Police are investigating a robbery and kidnapping at Ripken Stadium.
CBS
Aberdeen Police are investigating a robbery and kidnapping at Ripken Stadium.
Mary Bubala reports it was a terrifying night for a worker at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen after he's forcefully taken then manages to escape in Baltimore County.
Over the years, Ripken Stadium has earned a reputation for being a family spot. It's safe and tucked away in the woods.
"We're quiet, we're out by ourselves, security here is really good," said Lorraine Upton.
But as Aberdeen IronBirds fans lined up with their families for Thursday night's baseball game, the feeling was just not the same.
Overnight, the park became the scene of the robbery and kidnapping of 31-year-old Brian Baynes.
"You have to look at the economy and what's going on. People get desperate, and they do crazy things so it can happen anywhere," said John Schouten.
Aberdeen Police say Baynes, who is the director of operations for concessions, was wrapping up work when a man showed up in his office, gun in hand.
Baynes gave him cash before he was forced into his own car.
The two then drove to Baltimore County. Around 2:30 a.m., police say Baynes somehow stopped the car and hid in the woods near the Royal Farms store at the intersection of Ebenezer Road and Pulaski Highway.
Baynes then got back into the vehicle alone and drove to the gas station.
He was treated at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Center for a stab wound to the arm.
"We're still trying to piece together the sequence of events to try to come up with exact time frames, so we haven't even looked at who potentially had access up there," said Sgt. Fred Budnick with Aberdeen Police.
Tom Smith is the mascot for the IronBirds. He hopes it's the last investigation of this kind at the stadium.
"To hear something like that happen here, it blows you away because this is a very safe environment. You feel perfectly safe bringing your kids no matter what age," said Smith. "Doing what I do, I interact with babies to teenagers, and like I said, nothing has ever come anywhere close to being anything like this."
If you have any information on this crime, please call Baltimore County or the Aberdeen police department.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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