Ark. man accused of abducting daughter surrenders

[April 03, 2012]  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- An Arkansas man suspected of abducting his 18-month-old daughter after allegedly beating and stabbing her mother walked into an attorney's office with his daughter and surrendered late Monday, authorities said.

Ralph Waldo Morrison III turned himself in to the U.S. Marshals Service at the attorney's office in Texarkana, the Howard County Sheriff's Department said. Morrison had his daughter, Zahkairi, with him, and she was transported to a local hospital as a precaution, Deputy Bryan McJunkins said.

Zahkairi appeared to be unharmed, officers said.

McJunkins transported Morrison to the Howard County Jail, where he is being detained on a $250,000 bail.

Law enforcement officers began looking for Morrison, 28, and Zahkairi after witnesses told investigators he drove head-on into the car Zahkairi's mother was driving near Tollette on Sunday.

The witnesses said Morrison then beat Amaria Webster and stabbed her in the shoulders and neck with an ice pick before fleeing with the child into a nearby wooded area. Webster was treated at a hospital and released, Howard County Sheriff Butch Morris said.

Arrest warrants for four counts of aggravated assault, one count each of second-degree battery and kidnapping were issued for Morrison.

Repeated calls to a phone number listed as Morrison's rang unanswered Monday.

[Associated Press; By ALLEN REED]

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