A person generally commits the criminal offense of kidnapping by using force or other means of instilling fear to steal, take, hold, detain, abduct, or arrest a person and take them to another location. A person of any age may be a victim of kidnapping.

And a person generally commits the criminal offense of aggravated kidnapping if the person (1) uses force, fear, or fraud upon a victim who is a child under 14 years of age; (2) accompanies the kidnapping with a demand for ransom; (3) causes the victim to suffer serious bodily injury or death; (4) kidnaps a person during a carjacking; (5) uses the victim as a shield or hostage; or (6) exhibits or uses a deadly weapon during the course of the kidnapping.

Kidnapping laws vary from state to state, including definitions and affirmative defenses, such as whether the person taken is related to the kidnapper. Some states have child abduction laws that apply to the abduction of children by parents or relatives when the child is not moved a significant distance (out of county or state). Kidnapping laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Alaska, kidnapping is defined under Alaska Statutes Section 11.41.300. A person commits the offense of kidnapping by restraining someone with the intent to hold them for ransom or reward, use them as a shield or hostage, facilitate the commission of a felony or flight thereafter, inflict serious physical injury upon them, or interfere with the performance of a governmental function. Kidnapping is considered a class A felony. Aggravated kidnapping, which involves circumstances such as the victim being a child under 14 years of age, demanding ransom, causing serious bodily injury or death, carjacking, using the victim as a shield or hostage, or exhibiting or using a deadly weapon, is treated with increased severity and may result in harsher penalties. Alaska also has specific statutes addressing custodial interference, which can apply to situations where a child is taken or retained by a parent or relative in violation of a custody agreement. These laws are designed to address different scenarios of abduction and are found in the Alaska Statutes, typically within the sections dealing with criminal offenses.