A 37-year-old Topeka man is behind bars after being accused of kidnapping a 4-year-old girl and trying to drown her.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the man was taken into custody after police responded at 12:20 p.m. Friday to a reported kidnapping.

Topeka police spokeswoman Lt. Jana Harden says witnesses reported a man had taken the girl into the yard of a private residence and held her underwater in a swimming pool.

A witness was able to get to the girl and take her to safety. Harden says the man and the child are not related.

The man was being held at the Shawnee County Jail on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.