Woman with beer and knife opens stranger’s car and tries to take baby, Utah cops say

A woman was arrested after being accused of attempting to kidnap a baby while wielding a kitchen knife, Utah police said.

Ambrey Lynn Welch, 35, was found “heavily intoxicated” with a 10-inch kitchen knife and a beer can, Lt. Will Farr with Ogden police told McClatchy News.

On Aug. 27, police were dispatched after getting reports of people fighting in the street, Farr said.

The woman told officers she was investigating the fighting she heard outside, according to ABC 4.

Welch is accused of walking down the street and opening the back door of a stranger’s car and unbuckling the mom’s one-year-old baby, Farr told McClatchy News. The mother and child were getting ready to leave a family party.

Witnesses told police they heard Welch say she “was surprised the child’s mother would let them be taken,” according to Gephardt Daily. Documents obtained by the outlet state the “mother feared serious harm” because the woman “had a knife in her hand as she unbuckled the child.”

Welch, smelling like alcohol and having slurred speech, told police she had “many beers throughout the night,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KSL.

Police ordered Welch to drop the knife and she complied, Farr told McClatchy News.

Police are awaiting the results from a blood sample to determine Welch’s blood alcohol concentration, Farr told McClatchy News.

Welch was arrested and booked on charges of carrying a dangerous weapon while under the influence, aggravated kidnapping, intoxication, obstruction of justice among other charges, according to Weber County Sheriff’s Office jail records.

Ogden is about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City.

This story was originally published August 28, 2023 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Woman with beer and knife opens stranger’s car and tries to take baby, Utah cops say."