Four-Year-Old Safe After Alleged Machete Threat in Des Moines

A four year old in Des Moines is safe after a starling encounter with her father.

According to multiple reports, Duane VanDenHemel is "legally prohibited" from having any sort of contact with his young daughter.

Allegedly, this legal order did not stop him from forcing his way into his ex-wife's home earlier this month.

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Des Moines law enforcement were called to a house on the afternoon of Sunday, November 10th. The woman living in this home, was the ex of VanDenHemel and the mother of his four year old daughter.

When officials arrived on the scene, she claimed that VanDenHemel forced his way into the house, threatened the child's mother, and "forcibly removed" the child from the home.

All of this was done whilst he was allegedly wielding a machete.

The police managed to apprehend the man within ten minutes of reaching the scene. However, the child was not in the vehicle with him, according to reports.

Luckily, this four year old was located at the home of one of VanDenHemel's relatives and has been reunited with her mother.

The father was taken into custody by Des Moines police and is being held at Polk County jail, according to reports. 

VanDenHemel is being charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary and violation of a no-contact/protective order.

This is not the man's first run in with the law. According to the official Polk County website, VanDenHemel was charged with assault causing bodily injury or mental illness (no intent) and child endangerment back in September of this year.

This remains a developing story, so we will keep you updated as more information comes out.

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