Sioux Falls police arrest man for attempting to kidnap children

August 3, 2023

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.–A 30-year-old man was arrested after chasing after children he did not know in Sioux Falls Tuesday night.

Police received an attempted kidnapping call around 6:30 p.m. in the area of 6th St. and Cliff Ave.

Three kids — a 9-year-old girl, a 14-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy — were walking together and noticed a man who started following them.

The boy went to his house, and the girls continued on. They crossed a street, and the man ran across the street and started chasing after them.

The girls were close to their home. They ran to their yard, and once they got to the gate at their backyard, the man reached out and tried to grab one of them.

They were able to get into the house. The girls’ dad saw the man in the backyard. The suspect threatened the dad.

Officers came to the area and found the suspect near 7th and Cliff.

Thirty year-old Tevin Smith of Sioux Falls was arrested for Simple Assault Intimidation and Taking or Enticing a Child Under 14.