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Man accused of kidnapping Lakeland 4-year-old returned to Florida

Posted at 5:07 AM, Oct 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-13 18:42:07-04

UPDATE | West Wild Hogs was returned Thursday to Polk County, where he will face charges for the abduction of 4-year-old Rebecca Lewis.

Handcuffed and escorted by Polk sheriff's deputies, Hogs remained silent as reporters pelted him with questions as he walked into the Polk County Jail for booking.

Hogs waived extradition in a Tennessee courtroom Wednesday, and the judge agreed to send him back to Florida to face charges for the kidnapping.

ORIGINAL STORY | West Wild Hogs, the man accused of kidnapping 4-year-old Rebecca Lewis and sparking a search across several states is set to be in court Wednesday morning.

Investigators here in Florida are in the process of working out a plan to get him back to Polk County to face charges.

In the meantime he's set to face a judge in Memphis, Tennessee at 8:30 a.m. (9:30 EDT) this morning. Rebecca's family told ABC Action News they've already forgiven Hogs.

 

 

 

"Be proud that he did take such good care of her because this could have been a very different situation if he was a bad person," said Oma Mae Lewis.

ABC Action News was there as 4-year-old Rebecca was reunited with her family. They said they were certainly thankful to have her back after three days.

Her accused kidnapper, family friend, West Wild Hogs remains behind bars in Memphis Wednesday morning.

Rebecca was all smiles and happy to be back in her family's arms and she seemed to like the attention.

There are still a number of questions this morning about this case, including why did West Wild Hogs take Rebecca and what exactly were his intentions?

Investigators hope to get some of those answers in court today.

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