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Man charged with kidnapping retarded bride

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COOPER LANDING, Alaska, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- A man who eloped with a mildly retarded Alaska woman was arrested on a kidnapping charge on the first day of the honeymoon.

Mark Coulter, an auto mechanic, moved to Alaska from Minnesota after a divorce and settled in Cooper Landing on the Kenai Peninsula. He met the woman, identified only as K.H., a year ago while he was volunteering at a public radio station, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The couple became friendly at church.

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K.H., who is adopted, suffers from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

K.H.'s parents say that they asked Coulter to stay away from their daughter for a while because they wanted to see if he had her best interests at heart. They said their daughter is very attractive and had a history of involvement with unsuitable men, some of them criminals or drug users.

Coulter said that he thought K.H.'s mother was too controlling.

The mother said that she did not realize, when she asked police to find her daughter, that Coulter might end up facing a criminal charge, one that could carry a long prison term if he is convicted.

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