An 8-year-old girl is back home in the arms of her parents after she was abducted near her home late Friday night in Independence County.

The nightmare for the little girl and her family began around 8 p.m. Friday night along Cave Creek Road in the Pfeiffer community, just north of Batesville.

Witnesses told police they saw the 8-year-old girl walk into the woods near her house with the suspect, 40-year-old, Robert Byrd.

(Lt. Brenda Bittle, Indep. County Sheriff's Dept) "He met the victim yesterday just playing in the neighborhood. He's only been here for a week. He used to live here years ago, and apparently he has come back."

Officers and K9 units searched the wooded area for several hours and finally located the two in a ditch around midnight.

(Bittle) " When they brought her out, she had some scrapes and abrasions to her, but she appeared to be okay."

Robert Byrd was taken into custody at the scene. His truck was removed from the area as part of the investigation and with the girl now out of harms way, the whole community can rest a little easier.

(Bittle) "It's the worst nightmare you can have. The mother is very thankful. Having a missing child is one of the worst things we have to work."

We're told Robert Byrd faces kidnapping charges and authorities say, as the investigation continues, more charges could come.

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