Missouri family arrested for staging fake kidnapping

A Missouri family was arrested on Monday for inflicting harm on their 6-year-old son by staging a fake kidnapping. The boy’s mother, grandmother and aunt all stated that they did it because they wanted to teach him a lesson about possible danger from strangers. They also enlisted help from the aunt’s colleague, who lured the child into his pickup truck after he got off a school bus Monday afternoon. The man told the boy he would never see his mother again, and that he would be nailed to the wall of a shed. The man then blindfolded the child and tied up his hands and feet, before driving him home. The boy was kept in the basement for a while, before untied and told to go upstairs, where he was sternly lectured about staying away from strangers. The family is being charged with felony kidnapping, felonious restraint, and abuse or neglect of a child. All four were held in Lincoln County Jail with a bail of $250,000. It is not known if they had attorneys representing them. Local authorities were alerted after the boy notified school officials. He has been placed into protective custody.