BUCKHANNON – A man from Purgitsville, W.Va. was arrested in Upshur County after allegedly kidnapping his children in Hardy County this week.
Todd Pumphrey, 40, of Purgitsville, was being held without bond in Tygart Valley Regional Jail after his arrest Wednesday.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the Hardy County Magistrate Clerk’s Office, Deputy B.J. Parker responded to a domestic incident on Crider Road in Purgitsville at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 12.
“Deputy Parker was advised Todd Pumphrey, while armed with two firearms, took his two children, 13 and 15 years old, and fled the scene,” the file states. “Pumphrey made threats to kill the children, himself and anyone else who attempted to take custody of the children from him.”
According to the file, Pumphrey made the threats in the presence of other family members, who relayed that information to a West Virginia CPS worker. Sheriff S.R. Dawson filed the criminal complaint in Hardy County.
Later that morning, Pumphrey was tracked to Upshur County when he made a credit card purchase at Shop and Save in Buckhannon, the file states.
Mike Coffman, Chief Deputy of the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department, said their office received a call from Hardy County at around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday informing them of the situation.
“Sergeant Caynor received that call,” Coffman told My Buckhannon. “They believed he was in our area because they had been tracking him using his cards that hit down here.”
Coffman said Hardy County officers outlined the threats Pumphrey had allegedly made.
“They told us he had his kids with him, and they believed they were in danger,” Coffman said. “They were going charge him with kidnapping, and they wanted us to do a welfare check on the kids.”
Coffman said Upshur County deputies checked store security cameras and investigated a few ties Pumphrey had locally as they attempted to locate him.
“Sheriff [Virgil] Miller actually found his vehicle parked at the Bicentennial Inn at about 2 or 3 p.m. yesterday, so we called the city police for assistance and went up, entered the room and arrested him without incident,” Coffman said. “He was charged with kidnapping out of Hardy County.”
