Judge keeps bond at $9M for man charged in Wilmington girl's abduction

Douglas Edwards, 46, is charged first-degree kidnapping and two counts of indecent liberties with a child in the incident, although New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David said Friday that additional charges will likely be filed against Edwards.

Jason Mehalko and Peter Marchese were on their way to work Thursday morning when they came across a deputy who needed their help.

"(The deputy) yelling out - did we have an bolt cutters," Mehalko said.

They did not have bolt cutters, but they did have a saw. they eventually helped free the little girl.

"The way it looked and the way she was chained up, she was...it looked like she had been out there for awhile," Mehalko said. "Her back was like, toward a tree. And her feet outward, so she was tied from the chest up to the stree."

But Marchese said he will never forget the look on the little girl's face.

"When she looked up at me, I mean, there was like, terror in her eyes," he said.

Authorities rushed the girl to the hospital, where she was in good condition Thursday.

Edwards, who was convicted of first-degree sex offense with a 6-year-old in 1994, was released from prison in 2012. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 6, and on Friday he received a court-appointed attorney.

A motive behind the kidnapping, or a connection between Edwards and the girl or her family, was unclear.