‘Hero’ Senior, 85, Thwarts Alleged Kidnapper, 42, Charged with Trying to Abduct Young Woman

Apparently 85 in the new 35 for a nimble Oregon senior citizen who took on a man half his age who was allegedly attempting to kidnap a young woman.

A Jackson County grand jury indicted a 42-year-old transient named Matthew Hokulii Aranda on ten charges stemming from the terrifying attack, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Fox News reported.

Video of his arrest earlier this month was released by authorities.

According to the news outlet:

Aranda allegedly posed as a utility worker and “laid in wait” for several hours for his 25-year-old victim, who was working as a caregiver at a mobile home park in rural Medford, Oregon, investigators said. When the woman arrived, Aranda allegedly used a Taser to incapacitate her and physically attacked her, authorities said.

Enter the 85-year-old resident “hero,” sheriff’s deputies said, after the unidentified senior heard the young woman’s screams and confronted the suspect, resulting in a physical struggle, which gave the victim a chance to flee in her car.

Authorities apparently did not release the senior’s name to protect his own privacy and safety.

Aranda then allegedly shocked the elderly good Samaritan with a Taser and then chased after the woman with a large hunting knife.

The victim managed to enter her vehicle, but Aranda allegedly jumped onto the hood as she drove away, eventually falling off and injuring himself, authorities said.

The sheriff’s released footage shows deputies and canines discovering him hiding in row of bushes in Medford, located in southern Oregon just north of the California border.

He is heard telling police that his “leg is broken.”

Aranda has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of first-degree attempted kidnapping, second-degree attempted kidnapping, two counts of stalking, unlawful use of a GPS device, unlawful use of a weapon, and menacing, Fox News reported.

Aranda previously served six years in prison following a 2016 conviction for delivering a controlled substance to a minor, using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, and stalking, according to authorities.

Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.