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 Oklahoma, kidnapping is defined under Title 21, Section 741 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The law states that kidnapping occurs when someone, without lawful authority, forcibly seizes and confines another, or inveigles or kidnaps another with intent to cause such person to be confined or imprisoned in this state or to be sent out of this state, or in any way held to service against their will. Aggravated kidnapping, which is considered a more serious offense, is not specifically defined as a separate crime in Oklahoma statutes. However, factors such as kidnapping a child under 14, demanding ransom, causing serious bodily injury or death, committing the act during a carjacking, using the victim as a shield or hostage, or using a deadly weapon could lead to enhanced charges and penalties under related statutes, such as those for assault, battery, or use of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Oklahoma law also addresses child abduction by parents or relatives under the Child Stealing statute (Title 21, Section 891), which makes it illegal for a parent or other relative to take or hide a child, maliciously or forcibly, with the intent to detain or conceal the child from a parent or guardian entitled to custody.