Man suspected in 4-year-old SC girl's kidnapping arrested

Authorities say the man who kidnapped a 4-year-old girl in South Carolina after beating up her mother has been arrested in Mississippi.

Riverside, Alabama, Police Chief Rick Oliver said 37-year-old Thomas Evans was arrested Wednesday after a police chase in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.

Oliver found Evans sleeping in a car with Heidi Todd in the woods near a railroad track. The chief says Evans handed him the child when he said they needed to go to the police station and sped off in his car.

The chief said at a news conference that the girl was watching cartoons, drinking milk and coloring while she waited to be reunited with her father.

Related: Authorities: Missing SC 4-year-old found safe, suspect still at large

She disappeared Tuesday from her home in Charleston and her mother was found badly beaten.
Evans is charged with kidnapping and more charged are expected.

The chief didn't say if he had a lawyer.