When the mother of two young Mt. Croghan children reported her toddler and 5-year-old were missing last Thursday morning, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division issued an amber alert. Just four hours later, according to the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department, the children had been located and safely returned to Chesterfield County, and their father, 37-year-old Dennis Matthew Penny II, had been arrested for kidnapping.
Investigating officers said they were able to spot Penny quickly after he completed a bank transaction in Lancaster. Penny was pulled over and questioned, but refused to get out of the car. He drove away from authorities and led them on a chase that ended in Union County, North Carolina. Penny did not surrender himself, or his children, until his car was pinned between officers’ vehicles and a fence along the highway, lawmen said.
Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker said Penny also will face burglary charges.
“It’s all about the children, this time of the year being Christmas,” said Parker. Knowing this, he said, “makes it a sad situation for all of us.”
— Staff Writer Karen Kissiah can be reached by calling 843-537-5261, or by email at kkissiah@heartlandpublications.com.
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