EXCLUSIVE Shocking outburst of motorized scooter mom who 'lied' about Walmart child abduction and got man jailed

Daily Mail​

10-05-2025

A Georgia mom who allegedly lied about a beloved father trying to abduct her child at Walmart has claimed she is the real victim in the situation.
Caroline Miller, 26, claimed 57-year-old Mahendra Patel attempted to kidnap her two-year-old son at a Walmart in Acworth, Georgia, as she was rolling around on a motorized scooter despite not being disabled.
But, after spending a terrifying two months in jail, Patel was released on bail this week after a judge watched bombshell footage that appears to expose Miller as a liar.
Miller, a mother of two, broke cover on Wednesday, appearing stressed as she went to a Publix grocery store in fitness gear.
She strutted around a parking lot pushing a shopping cart confidently and without the need for a mobility scooter like the type she was suing when the Patel incident erupted.
Speaking exclusively toDailyMail.com, Miller said she 'tried to tell her story but it was "twisted" and [she] does not want to be part of the "narrative."
Miller's demeanor and unwillingness to elaborate was in marked contrast to the media tour she undertook while accusing Patel of the horrific crime.
She alleged that Patel attempted to take her son after he stopped to ask her where the Tylenol was, leading to what she described as a 'tug of war' over the child in the aisles.
However, t he release of surveillance footage has led many to cast doubt over Miller's claims, as Patel was seen merely conversing with the mother as she pointed him toward the medication.
Patel insisted that he grabbed the boy as he saw him falling off Miller's motorized shopping cart and attempted to save him, and in court this week, Patel's attorney Ashleigh Merchant said he 'acted like a father' when he reached out to stop the child from falling.
Cameras show Miller apparently unbothered by the interaction in the immediate aftermath. She was seen smiling and chatting with a man, while Patel went about his business. Her claims that Patel fled the store have also been disproven by footage showing him paying for his goods and leaving in a calm, unhurried manner.
The father of two remained in custody since he was arrested three days after his interaction with Miller, and Merchant said he spent his 57th birthday behind bars two weeks before his bond hearing.
Patel has received an outpouring of support from those who feel he was unjustly accused, and a cheer rang out from his family and supporters as he was given bail on Tuesday.
As a judge released Patel, he set a $10,000 bond and remarked on the 'significant' amount of media and social media attention the case has received.
In footage of their interaction in Walmart, Patel was seen walking up to Miller as she drove her motorized shopping cart with her son and four-year-old daughter.
It is unclear why Miller was using the cart, as she is able to walk.
Patel insists he's been wrongfully accused as his loved ones say they instantly knew there was 'some kind of mistake' when he was arrested
After pointing him toward the Tylenol, Miller then spoke with another shopper and was seen smiling and laughing with them, moments after she alleged that she fought to save her child from a kidnapping.
The other patron also helped Miller's children as they fell from her mobility scooter - which she mother was using despite not being disabled - just as Patel said he had done.
The footage showed no such struggle that Miller had described, and even showed Patel walking back past her and appearing to show her the Tylenol that he eventually found as he left the store.
Miller reported Patel to a Walmart employee five minutes after the alleged snatching attempt, but did not call the police until later.
In court on Tuesday, Marchant said a Walmart staffer found it strange that Miller did not scream or call for help during the alleged kidnapping attempt, and initially appeared reluctant to call police.
A prosecutor claimed that a Walmart employee told police Patel had tried to touch them and said 'something like he loved them.'
The prosecutor added that Patel had been arrested for a DUI in the past, to which Merchant stood up and countered that while Patel was never convicted of a DUI, she alleged that Miller had been.
After it was brought up that Patel served six months in federal prison for a 2006 arrest for a 'white collar crime' related to a contracts scam, Merchant said he cooperated with investigators to convict another perpetrator and paid back all ill-gotten gains.
Patel had gone to the Walmart to buy drugs for his elderly mother, and was seen calmly paying for his items and leaving after the alleged 'kidnapping' attempt
Patel has remained in the county jail ever since he was arrested three days later, with a family friend previously telling DailyMail.com that the father has been struggling behind bars.
They said they 'automatically' knew there 'had to have been a mistake' when they saw the news of his arrest, and said he has been maligned through no fault of his own.
'There's just like absolutely no way like he would ever do something like that,' they said.
They blasted Miller, who has gone on a media tour to accuse him of child-snatching.
'How many interviews can this person do? She is just making so many assumptions on the person he is just based on her one interaction,' they said.
Patel was looking for a specific kind of Tylenol for his ailing 86-year-old mother.
She takes Tylenol twice a day, 'and that's probably why he was frantically looking for it.'
They added that Patel's wife is 'distraught' not speaking to anyone since her husband's humiliating arrest.
Patel, meanwhile, was struggling behind bars.
'He's not doing well. It's awful. He's being threatened. I mean, you can imagine, he's in here for child kidnapping. People in jail aren't treated well if they're accused of harming a child,' attorney Ashleigh Merchant tells Daily Mail.
Despite the video footage and his claims, the Acworth Police Department is standing by the arrest, saying the 'video released by the attorney does not show the entire incident.'
'It seems to have been edited... it's not the video we have,' the department said, but declined to share their footage with DailyMail.com.
'I have no idea if they showed the video or not [to the grand jury]. But if you see the entire video, it's very clear what's happening. I mean, there's really no mistaking it,' Patel's lawyer Merchant said.
When asked why Miller would make up such horrific claims against an innocent name, Patel's lawyer pointed out that Miller has previously been involved in litigation against companies.
In 2021 she filed a lawsuit against Lyft saying she had been raped by a driver. The lawsuit is ongoing.
Meanwhile, a change.org petition is shining a light on Patel's version of events, and people are leaving comments expressing support for the father.
One comment read: 'I have left my kids with him many times. He is exactly opposite of what he is accused of and video evidence clearly shows that he was helping the kid who almost fell down.'
Another added: 'This is a horrible case of discrimination. Video shows a humble man who is trying to help. Now people will hesitate to help someone who really needs help.'
A third said: 'The video clearly shows he was not trying to "kidnap" the kid and was not "fleeing" the scene.