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Searchers recount wooded area where kidnapped Wilmington girl was found chained up

Alligators, venomous snakes and coyotes inhabit the woods where a young Wilmington girl was found chained to a tree a year ago, witnesses said Thursday in the trial of her alleged abductor.

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Douglas Edwards
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Alligators, venomous snakes and coyotes inhabit the woods where a young Wilmington girl was found chained to a tree a year ago, witnesses said Thursday in the trial of her alleged abductor.

Douglas Nelson Edwards, a registered sex offender, faces charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury and various child sex offenses in the September 2016 abduction of 6-year-old from her front yard.

Capt. Todd Radabaugh of the state Wildlife Resources Commission testified that the conditions in the wooded area where the girl was found the next day "could be fatal," according to NBC affiliate WECT.

The girl's mother testified Wednesday that she is still haunted by nightmares and is scared to play outside.

Jurors are being bused in from Sampson County for the trial.

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