Police footage of a deadly 2024 hostage incident in Ohio is drawing renewed attention after an edited video showing the pursuit of Charles Ryan Alexander and the rescue of his seven-year-old daughter attracted more than one million views.
The video, published by the Midwest Safety YouTube channel in November 2026, brings together police recordings from 11 November 2024. The incident itself happened nearly two years ago, not this week. Viewstats, a third-party video tracking service, listed approximately 1.07 million views for the upload when checked on 8 November 2026.
How the abduction began
Alexander, 43, did not have custody of his daughter. According to contemporary reporting based on a briefing by Medina County Sheriff Terry Grice, he tried to collect her from school on 11 November 2024. School staff contacted her grandmother, who collected the child instead.
Alexander subsequently went to a relative’s home in Empire, Jefferson County, and took the girl following an altercation. Authorities issued an AMBER Alert. The date was also the child’s seventh birthday.
Police initially searched for Alexander’s pickup truck. He later travelled in a U-Haul box truck and was located in the Brunswick area of north-east Ohio. Officers tried to stop him, but he drove away, leading police along Interstate 71.
A police pursuit and armed standoff
The edited footage includes police radio traffic, vehicle-camera recordings and aerial images. Officers can be heard describing the truck’s movements, warning one another that a child is inside and deploying devices to deflate its tyres.
The truck eventually came to a halt near a restaurant on Eastpointe Drive in Medina Township. Alexander remained inside with his daughter as police surrounded the area. During telephone calls with dispatchers, he threatened to kill himself and the girl. The recordings capture the child’s distress and officers’ attempts to manage the situation.
Authorities later said Alexander fired shots towards police. An Ohio State Highway Patrol specialist, Trooper Colin Acciavatti, took up a position approximately 70 yards away. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office says Alexander was holding a gun to his daughter’s head when the trooper fired a single rifle round through an opening alongside the truck’s driver’s window.
Alexander died at the scene. Officers removed the child from the truck and returned her to relatives. Police said she had suffered no physical injuries.
Watch the police footage
Content warning: The following edited video contains distressing audio involving a child, an armed confrontation and a fatal police shooting. Viewer discretion is advised.
If the player does not open on this page, watch the full Midwest Safety video directly on YouTube. This is an edited presentation of older footage rather than the full unedited investigative record.
What happened after the shooting?
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation examined the shooting. Its closing report states that the case was presented to a Medina County grand jury on 14 May 2025 and that jurors declined to bring criminal charges against the Ohio State Highway Patrol officer. The investigation was closed.
In 2025, Ohio’s Attorney General publicly named Trooper Colin Acciavatti as a recipient of a Valor Award for his actions in the rescue. The official commendation describes his position, the threat to the child and the shot he fired.
That official identification is relevant because commentary near the end of Midwest Safety’s edited video says the officer had chosen to remain unidentified. The state’s subsequent public recognition identifies him by name.
Why is the case being discussed again?
The renewed attention follows the November 2026 Midwest Safety upload, not a new abduction, shooting or legal ruling. The footage highlights the dangers faced by the child and the decisions officers had to make, but it should be read alongside the original investigation and contemporaneous news reporting.
The available records establish the child’s physical survival, the death of Charles Alexander and the grand jury’s decision. They do not establish what longer-term effects the experience has had on the child. Fish 4 News is not speculating about her private life.
Sources
- Ohio Attorney General: Charles Alexander investigative documents and footage
- Ohio Attorney General: Trooper Colin Acciavatti Valor Award citation
- Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation: case closing report and grand jury decision
- Cleveland 19: original November 2024 police briefing and timeline
- Viewstats: Midwest Safety video views, checked 8 November 2026
