DNA clears man in Attleboro kidnapping case

TAUNTON, Mass.—Prosecutors have dropped charges against a former Attleboro man accused of attempting to drag a 13-year-old boy into the woods.

Prosecutors said in a motion to dismiss filed Monday in Taunton Superior Court that they dropped charges against Mark Rantanen, 47, of New Bedford, because DNA tests had failed to link him to the October 2008 abudction attempt and because the alleged victim could not positively identify Rantanen as his assailant.

Rantanen’s lawyer told The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro that his client has always maintained his innocence. Attorney Daniel Rich said Rantanen is physically unable to drag anyone, let alone a teenage boy who was about the same height as him.

A spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said the case remains under investigation