This week, a Hot Springs man was sentenced to life in prison and his co-defendant was given 15 years in prison for kidnapping a female minor in April 2022. Court documents explain that 40-year-old Samuel Wayne Bolling Jr. and 21-year-old Dayla Diane Ferrer agreed to kidnap a minor in an attempt to extort money from her relatives. On April 18, 2022, Ferrer approached the victim in the downtown area of Hot Springs and asked for her assistance.

Once the minor entered Ferrer’s vehicle, she was attacked and restrained by Bolling. Once contact was made with the victim’s family, Bolling demanded a payment of $10,000 in exchange for the victim’s safe return. The minor was held overnight before she was released the following day, according to authorities.