Idaho Authorities Drop Kidnapping Charges Against Costco Shopper After Surveillance Video Shows Baby Cart Mix-Up Was Accidental

IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO — Prosecutors have dismissed kidnapping charges against a 24-year-old Idaho college student after full surveillance footage showed he “mistakenly” walked away with a shopping cart carrying a stranger’s 4-week-old baby inside a busy Costco — contradicting the initial claims made by the infant’s mother.

Initial Complaint Claimed the Baby Was Taken Intentionally

The incident happened on Nov. 20 at the Idaho Falls Costco, where Michael Garrison Raine, a Brigham Young University–Idaho student, was accused of second-degree kidnapping after a mother reported that he walked off with her baby strapped inside a car seat in her cart.

The mother told police she noticed Raine “lingering” near her cart as she browsed the book aisle. She said she turned away only briefly — and when she looked back, the cart and her baby were gone. She located the cart with Raine in the next aisle and immediately contacted authorities.

Raine told police he had grabbed the wrong cart by mistake, believing it was his own empty one.

“I was just so oblivious … I really must have been completely out of it,” Raine reportedly said during questioning.

Full Surveillance Video Contradicts Key Parts of the Mother’s Memory

At a Thursday press conference, Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal and Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson announced that after reviewing the complete Costco surveillance footage, the kidnapping charges were no longer supported.

Neal explained that the full video — not the brief cellphone recording initially provided — showed no evidence of stalking, lurking, or any intentional attempt to remove the child.

“Detectives did not see any kind of stalking behavior,” Neal said.
“Some of the things the mother was remembering weren’t correct, according to the video.”

Police went as far as recreating the scene with the mother to compare her recollection against the footage.

Neal stated:

“It was clear, early on, that some of her memories were inaccurate.”

The video also confirmed that Raine entered the aisle with his own cart, which had been out of frame in the earlier recording viewed by police.

Prosecutor: No Evidence of Intent to Kidnap

Authorities determined that Raine’s actions were consistent with confusion inside a crowded store, not a kidnapping attempt.

Neal summarized their findings:

“It certainly seems inconsistent with an intent to take the baby and leave the area.”

With that conclusion, all kidnapping charges were dismissed, and Raine was cleared of wrongdoing.

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