BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Martin County man is in jail facing kidnapping and assault charges after allegedly cutting two women in Lovely, abducting his 1-year-old son and fleeing to Columbus, Ohio, Sunday morning.

Kentucky State Police responded to the call to Martin County 911 at 1:20 a.m., which resulted in a statewide alert stating the child was abducted by his noncustodial father.

Trooper Ryan Hale went to a residence on Riverfront Road in Lovely, where the abducted child’s mother and grandmother suffered lacerations from a box-cutter at the hands of the accused abductor Johnny Steven Kirk, 25.

Details of the mother’s injuries were not disclosed, but they were said to have required medical treatment. The injuries to the grandmother occurred as she attempted to prevent Kirk from removing the child from the home.

A BOLO was issued for the cream-colored Chevrolet Suburban that Kirk was driving when he fled the scene with the child, also named Johnny.

An Amber Alert was also issued Sunday morning describing Kirk and providing the vehicle’s license plate number.

Investigators said tips from the public led police to determine that Kirk was en route to Columbus, Ohio.

Martin County Attorney Melissa Phelps issued e-warrants for Kirk’s arrest. 

By 8 a.m., the Amber Alert had been canceled. KSP Post 9 and Phelps were contacted earlier by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, stating they had successfully located Kirk’s vehicle in the parking lot of a McDonald’s near East Livingston Avenue in Columbus.

Kirk was taken into custody and served with the warrants out of Martin County.

The child was unharmed and returned to the custody of his mother.

Kirk faces charges of kidnapping (crossing state lines), which could be upgraded to a federal offense, and one count of second-degree assault. Phelps said additional charges are pending.

Kirk will remain incarcerated in Ohio without bond as he awaits extradition.

According to Phelps, this was not the first time Kirk had been arrested for physical violence toward his child’s mother. He was charged with unlawful imprisonment when she was under the legal age of 18.

“We want to thank the public for sharing the Amber Alert on social media and for the tips we received about what was believed to be the defendant’s direction of travel,” stated Trooper Michael Coleman of KSP Post 9. “Thankfully, this incident ended with the child returned back to his mother unharmed and the guilty party in jail.”