A child said there was a monster under the bed. The reality was even more horrifying.

ByLeah Sarnoff ABCNews logo
Thursday, March 27, 2025 11:06PM
Martin Villalobos Junior aged 27, was arrested and transported to Barton County Jail in Kansas after a babysitter discovered him hiding under a child's bed.
Barton County Sheriff's Office

When a child in Kansas complained to the babysitter of a "monster" under the bed this week, the reality was far more sinister than the common childhood fear.

Sheriff's deputies in Great Bend, Kansas, said they were dispatched to a residence at 10:30 p.m. on Monday for a reported disturbance.

Upon arrival, the deputies spoke with the babysitter who said a child complained there was a "monster" under the bed, the Barton County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Wednesday.

When the babysitter attempted to show the child there was nothing under the bed, "she came face-to-face with a male suspect" who had been hiding there at the time, the sheriff's office said.

Officials said an altercation between the suspect and the babysitter ensued and one of the children was "knocked over" in the struggle.

It was not immediately clear if the child or the babysitter were injured in the incident. ABC News has reached out to the Barton County Sheriff's Office for a comment.

The suspect -- who the babysitter identified as 27-year-old Martin Villalobos Jr. -- then fled the scene before deputies arrived, according to the sheriff's office.

Villalobos previously lived at the residence but there was a protection from abuse order issued against him to stay away from the property at the time of the incident, officials said.

On Tuesday morning, the day after he allegedly fled the scene, deputies said they located Villalobos in the area of the residence.

Officials said he attempted to flee from law enforcement but was captured after a short foot pursuit.

Villalobos was arrested and transported to the Barton County Jail where he was booked on requested charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, child endangerment, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer and violation of a protection from abuse order, according to the sheriff's office.

He is being held in jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond, deputies said.

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