This story was originally published by East Idaho News.
A 24-year-old BYU-Idaho student has been charged following social media outrage after a woman posted about him allegedly stealing her shopping cart with her newborn baby inside at a local Costco.
Michael Garrison Raine, from California, is charged with felony second-degree kidnapping.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Natalie Millett called the Idaho Falls Police Department on Thursday, Nov. 20, to report that a man had stolen her shopping cart at Costco with her 4-week-old infant inside.
She also posted about the incident on Facebook, garnering thousands of reactions and comments.
Because of the popularity of the post, locals have expressed concern and outrage over multiple details of this case, with many concerned that Raine is out on bail, and others calling it a hoax.
In a recent Facebook update, Millett says she and her family are “currently working with IFPD and the prosecutor to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to court.”
The allegations
Court documents state that Millett spoke with investigators on Nov. 25, stating that she arrived at Costco around 10:30 a.m. with her baby and adult sister. The baby was inside a car seat in the “deep part of the shopping cart.”
According to police reports, “It was very clear that the child’s car seat was completely visible because it was large and was protruding above the top portion of the cart.” After about 15 minutes of shopping, Millett says she walked over to the book section with the shopping cart slightly behind her, but still within arm’s reach.
She then noticed a man “lingering in the book section” but continued looking at the books, grabbing one to read the back.
Millett told detectives she “had a weird feeling to look at her cart” and realized it, along with the baby, was gone. She said she started looking and found the cart and her baby a couple of aisles over in the snack aisle, being pushed away from her by a man in his 20s or 30s.
Millett described the man as an “average build, a few inches taller than her (the woman is 5’3″ tall), with dark hair poking out of his hat, wearing a light-colored jacket and jeans.”
She told detectives that he was possibly of Middle Eastern descent. Millett grabbed the cart from the man, and he reportedly began apologizing, saying, “I’ll never do that again, I promise.”
Investigators say she described feeling as though the man was “trying to get her not to make a scene.” The woman then hurried away and went to find her sister. Officers later obtained video footage, which reportedly showed the man entering the store around 10:20 a.m. with an empty shopping cart.
At 10:40 a.m., he is reportedly seen walking around the book area without a cart, and appearing to “be looking around at people and also examining books.”
Millett eventually wanders into the same aisle as the man, who police say “opened a book, brought the opened book up to his nose, then appeared to sniff the center pages of the book very closely.” He then reportedly put the book away and walked near Millett and her baby.
Police reports state that he “walked to the end of the aisle, which only had him and (Millett and her baby) in it,” and then looked around before he “grabbed the front end of the cart and spun it around behind her.”
The man then pushed the cart away from Millett and walked down the aisles behind the book area. Millett quickly realized the cart was gone, searched for it and the baby, found the cart, took it back, then walked away.
According to court documents, “the suspect follows (Millett) and tries talking to her as she walks away.” The man then went to a self-check register and used a Costco Membership account that did not belong to him to check out and buy food at the food court. He sat down to eat before leaving.
Officers were able to track the address on the Costco membership to an apartment building in Rexburg that houses male BYU-Idaho students. The owner of the membership was determined to be a roommate of the suspect.
Investigators then identified the suspect as Raine due to his Facebook account, BYU-Idaho student profile, and resemblance to the man in the Costco surveillance video.
EastIdahoNews.com confirmed with BYU-Idaho Public Affairs Director Brett Crandall that Raine is currently enrolled at the school.
Using the license plate from parking lot security footage at Costco, police used a license plate reader to track Raine’s car to the Marine Corps parking lot in Idaho Falls.
IFPD detectives went there and found the car in the parking lot with a Costco receipt in plain view.
Detectives spoke with staff from the United States Marine Corps Recruiting Station on Nov. 25, who said Raine had visited their office on Nov. 20 — a few hours after the Costco incident — to speak with a recruiter and to go to the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in Boise.
He then left the station with two men in a different car to go to Boise. According to court documents, Raine had failed out of MEPS due to “being disqualified for psychological reasons.”
Raine’s explanation
On Nov. 26, Raine returned to the recruiting station in Idaho Falls and was detained before being taken to the Idaho Falls Police Department for questioning.
Raine reportedly admitted to going to Costco on Thursday, Nov. 20, but stated that “nothing of note happened at Costco, and nothing out of the ordinary happened.”
Investigators told him that a child was taken that day and said Raine “acted as if he was surprised.” They then clarified that he took the child, and he reportedly stated, “Oh! That! I am so sorry. I remember that now.”
When asked to elaborate, Raine stated that he was browsing the book section with his cart next to him and was moving the cart along with him. According to Raine, he “grabbed the front of his cart from the front, and dragged it around without looking at what was in the cart.”
Court documents say Raine said, “the next thing he knew, he was confronted by a woman, but he did not know how. The woman did not say anything to him, but he realized he took this woman’s baby and grabbed the wrong cart.”
Raine stated that he was “completely mistaken” and apologized several times, saying, “I’m so sorry, is she OK?” Is there anything I should do?” He told police that the woman then walked away without saying anything, so he grabbed his cart and went to checkout.
Police then showed Raine the surveillance video, and he stated, “I was just so oblivious.” He repeatedly asked officers whether they knew where he had put his shopping cart, and was questioned about inconsistencies in his story compared to what was shown in the video.
When asked how he was unable to see the baby and her car seat in the shopping cart, Raine reportedly stated, “I guess, I, I don’t know, I really must have been completely out of it. And I know that’s like, not, I don’t know that’s probably not what you want to hear, but I, I, just … I don’t know, like …”
When asked if he remembered telling the woman, “I’m sorry, I’ll never do that again,” Raine reportedly stated, “Oh … yeah, I think that might have been part of my profuse apologies.”
According to police, Raine said that he “meant he felt he made a mistake that time, and that’s never going to happen again.”
“I can’t undo that. Like as much as I want to like not do that mistake like I did to that poor mother and the poor child, not saying they’re bad, just like (unintelligible) … if that makes sense,” Raine reportedly said to police. “Like I won’t ever make that kind of mistake again, just being so unaware of my surroundings that I rob somebody of their child for even just a few seconds.”
Raine ultimately denied purposely taking the baby and maintained that it was an accident. He was then arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail on a $15,000 bond, though it was later reduced to $5,000.
He later posted bail and was released on Nov. 28.
Raine is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 10. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
In a recent Facebook update, Millett says she and her family are “currently working with IFPD and the prosecutor to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to court.”
EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Millett for further comment but has not yet heard back.
Idaho Falls Police spokesperson Jessica Clements provided the following comment:
“The safety of our community members, especially children, is of utmost importance to IFPD. We appreciate that the mother took this interaction seriously and reported it, and are proud of the work done by our investigators. We are committed to continuing the investigation and working with the victim and the prosecutor moving forward.”
EastIdahoNews.com also reached out to Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal, who provided the following in a news release:
“Prosecutors were consulted prior to and approved the probable cause for the arrest. A criminal complaint was filed on Nov. 28, 2025, and a magistrate judge found probable cause for the charge and set the initial bond in the amount of $15,000. Raine appeared before the magistrate judge later that day and the bond was reduced to $5,000. Although not unusual in this initial stage of the process, the State had no input into the setting or reduction of the bond amount. Raine will next appear for a preliminary hearing in the 7th Judicial District in Bonneville County on Dec. 10.”
We also reached out to Raine for comment, but have not received a response.
We will update this story if Raine or Millett comment on the situation to us.
Though Raine has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
