Wild development in Walmart kidnapping case

New footage has disproved a mother’s claim that a stranger attempted to snatch her child in a popular department store.

New footage has emerged, disproving a mother’s claim that a stranger attempted to snatch her two-year-old child in a popular department store.

Caroline Miller, from Georgia, US, claimed a man — later identified as Mahendra Patel, 56 — tried to snatch her son Jude, 2, from her lap while she shopped at a Walmart in Georgia last month.

Mr Patel has been charged with attempted kidnapping, as well as assault and battery.

However, his lawyer Ashleigh Merchant has claimed that new CCTV footage from the store showed that what Ms Miller alleged “didn’t happen”.

Ms Miller claimed that while using a motorised scooter in the store, her son was on her lap when Mr Patel approached her and asked for help finding Panadol.

Caroline Miller claims a man tried to kidnap her son. Picture: WSBTV

She alleged that the request was a distraction to actually grab her son, and they then had a “tug of war” over the toddler, The Independent reported.

“I’m like, ‘No, no, no, what are you doing? What are you doing?’ He pulled him. I pulled him back. We’re tug-of-warring,” the mum recalled in an interview last month.

But his lawyer said her client is a “friendly, older gentleman” who was simply asking for help looking for pain relief for his mother.

CCTV footage showed the duo speak, before Ms Miller appeared to roll away on her scooter. Mr Patel then leaned in, but the nature of their alleged interaction is unclear as the older man’s back is to the camera and blocked Ms Miller from view. The two then part ways.

“This video is very clear that did not happen,” Ms Merchant told WSB-TV.

The alleged altercation. Picture: WSBTV

She claimed the toddler was about to fall and Mr Patel helped the mother, who also had her four-year-old daughter with her, readjust.

Later, after an employee helped Mr Patel find the Panadol he bumped into the mum again and showed her he had secured what he was looking for, the footage claims to show.

“He’s not fleeing. He’s using his debit card, he’s talking with an employee here and paying for it in his own name,” she said.

Ms Merchant claimed her client wasn’t the only one who tried to help the mother, who said she was simply driving the mobility scooter because her children wanted to ride it.

Footage appeared to show the woman’s daughter on the ground and a man having to scoop her up.