A Queens kidnapping suspect is dead Friday, one day after he allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted a young child when he crashed his vehicle in an attempt to evade police, NYPD brass said.
According to NYPD Assistant Chief of Detectives Jason Savino, cops were sparing no expense hunting for 64-year-old Wayne Noel after he allegedly dragged a 9-year-old girl from a Key Food store at 213th St. and Jamaica Ave. in Queens Village around 7:20 p.m. on Thursday as her grandmother used the restroom.
“The subject approaches our very vulnerable survivor and makes a statement to the effect: ‘Get in front of me,’ then grabs her hair and forcefully leads her outside the store. The subject then pushes her inside of his own vehicle,” Chief Savino said.
Cops spotted the suspect driving along 212 St. and Hillside Ave. on Aug. 30, but when they tried to stop him, he sped away, leading police on a pursuit at around 12:30 p.m. Things quickly grew out of control when the fleeing suspect careened through a stop sign and into a red Jeep Grand Cherokee on 212 St. and 90th Ave., t-boning the vehicle in the middle of the cross-section. While the driver of the Jeep suffered minor injuries, Noel perished.
“As a result, that driver was seriously injured. Responding officers attempted life-saving measures. That subject was removed to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where the subject unfortunately perished,” Savino said.
Police say Noel sexually assaulted the child after abducting her from the supermarket in his vehicle. He drove to a nearby area where he attempted to perform a sex act, only for a passing good Samaritan to intervene. However, the pervert managed to drive away again and assaulted the girl before leaving her on the street.
Noel is known to police, having been arrested four times in the past, most recently for a robbery in 2022, during which he again abducted a woman at knife point.
A father himself, Chief Savino underscored both the importance of closing a case as serious as this and the impact the attack will have on the child for the rest of her life.
“This is why we became cops,” Savino said. “We gave just a little piece of dignity back to this young survivor.”
