TSA officer charged in boy's kidnap attempt

Authorities in Idaho say they aren’t sure of the true identity of a Transportation Security Administration officer charged with attempting to kidnap a 10-year-old boy because they found personal identification documents — including Social Security numbers — for five separate individuals in his possession.

KTVB-TV, NBC’s Boise affiliate, reported that the TSA officer was charged with second-degree kidnapping Tuesday under the name of Robert Joe Harrison Jr. Fifth District Magistrate Ted Israel set bail at $500,000.

The station said the man known as Harrison has worked as a TSA officer at the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey since November 2005. It said he has been suspended without pay pending investigation of the kidnapping charges.

Police detectives in Ketchum arrested the man on Tuesday, after a 10-year-old boy reported that he had been lured into a red Dodge Dakota pickup truck while walking home from school and driven to an apartment complex by a man who invited him in to watch a movie, KTVB said. The boy left and told his mother about the incident and she in turn called police, it said.

The man denied having encountered the boy, but police arrested him and seized his vehicle, according to the report. Upon further investigation, detectives found four additional Social Security numbers and documents showing four other dates of birth at the man's apartment, it said.

Police and TSA officials were expected to discuss the case at a news conference Thursday.

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