Effingham hotel employees honored for stopping kidnapping

Bradley Zimmerman
·1 min read
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EFFINGHAM, Ill. (WCIA) — Two employees of an Effingham hotel were recently honored by the Effingham Police Department for their role in stopping a child’s kidnapping earlier this year.

Department officials posted to Facebook that Franklin Kirkpatrick and Trevor Mattka were given Citizens Service Citations for their intervention on Jan. 19. On that day, Matthew Kelledes of Flora attempted to take a girl from the hotel lobby, but he was stopped by the two employees and hotel patrons.

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Kelledes was arrested and last month, he pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

When he announced the arrest in January, Effingham Police Chief Jason McFarland praised Kirkpatrick and Mattka’s assistance in stopping the kidnapping. Now, the two have official awards.

“Their courage and selflessness are an inspiration to us all,” the Effingham Police Department added.

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