Quick-Thinking Bus Driver Helped Rescue Toddler After AMBER Alert

A bus driver in Columbus, Ohio, was instrumental in the rescue of a toddler after an AMBER alert was issued saying police believed she'd been abducted by her teenage father on September 12.

Steve Cochenour, a bus driver for Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), helped authorities find the child while he was on his break in a parking lot when a bystander pointed out a car resembling the Honda Pilot listed in the AMBER alert, local outlet ABC6 reported.

Cochenour called the police and gave them a detailed description and license plate, which reportedly matched the alert.

The toddler, Lux Tiwari, was believed to be abducted by her noncustodial parent, father Sewak Tiwari, 19, and an AMBER alert was subsequently issued by the Licking County Sheriff's Office in Newark, Ohio, Newsweek previously reported.

Following Cochenour's call, authorities rescued the young child in the Eastern area of Columbus and arrested Tiwari around 6:30 pm, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

When describing his actions, the bus driver told ABC6, "I just reacted and did what I think pretty much any of the COTA bus operators would have done."

Newsweek attempted to contact Cochenour for comment via LinkedIn messages.

Authorities said Tiwari abducted his daughter shortly before 4:00 p.m. on September 12 from 15 Mesimer Drive in Newark, a women's health clinic, as Newsweek previously reported.

According to police, Tiwari and his girlfriend got into an argument while on the way to a doctor's appointment, and he dropped her off and soon left with the toddler after she called the police, as reported by ABC6. Police also said that Tiwari contacted his girlfriend and made threats to her and their child.

According to Licking County Municipal court records obtained by The Columbus Dispatch, Tiwari has at least three criminal cases pending against him, including a charge for domestic violence by threats related to an incident on July 5.

The alleged victim reportedly requested that the domestic violence by threats case be dismissed a month later.

The outlet also reported that Tiwari has two felony cases pending in Franklin County, involving a theft charge from 2023 and an alleged swatting incident in early June.

According to Child Find of America, 78 percent of child abductors are non-custodial parents, and 66 percent of child abductors are male relatives.

In an FBI press release about child abductions, FBI analyst Ashli-Jade Douglas of the Violent Crimes Against Children Intelligence Unit said, "Unfortunately, the threat of violence — and death — in these cases is all too real."

She continued, "Most non-custodial parental abductors want retaliation. They feel that if they can't have the child full time — or any amount of time — then the other parent shouldn't have the child, either."

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