Kayla Unbehaun police officers are highlighting disturbing details about a missing girl’s case after she was found in a clothing store six years later
Police have revealed eerie details about the case of a girl who was allegedly kidnapped nearly six years ago by her mother, who is not in custody.
Heather Unbehaun, 40, was charged after Kayla Unbehaun was found safe by her father in North Carolina over the weekend after she disappeared from Illinois in 2017.
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The girl’s non-custodial mother is scheduled to appear in court on July 11 on charges related to the alleged abduction more than five years ago when Kayla was nine.
Heather posted $250,000 bail before leaving the Buncombe County Detention Center. FoxNews reported.
Her father traveled from the Midwest to pick up the now 14-year-old girl, and Kayla is now back in her home state, police said.
A North Carolina store owner reportedly recognized the missing girl after seeing her on an episode of the Netflix show Unsolved Mysteries and called Asheville police.
“What’s most unusual is the ability to stay off the grid for that period of time, if you will,” Asheville Police Lieutenant Jonathan Brown told a local news outlet.
“We usually leave behind a technological breadcrumb that is usually very easy and quick to track down. But this was not the case.”
In a statement, the agency said its officers arrived at a clothing store around 7:26 p.m. on May 13 to investigate a reported kidnapping.
Police said officers arrived after a witness said they thought they recognized a woman who abducted a child in 2017 and “they were able to locate and contact the woman and child.”
The statement continued, “Following further investigation by officers and confirmation from the South Elgin Police Department, officers have been able to confirm the identities of Heather Unbehaun (mother/abductor) and a minor child in her care.”
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a kidnapping warrant was issued for Heather Unbehaun in July 2017.
According to NEMEC, Kayla was last seen in Illinois on July 5, 2017, before she was “allegedly abducted by her mother.”
“I’m over the moon that Kayla is safe at home. I want to thank you.” [the City of Elgin, Illinois Police and Fire Departments]’ Kayla’s father, Ryan, said in a statement this week.
He also thanked “the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and all law enforcement agencies who assisted her with her case.”
The statement continued, “We ask for privacy as we reconnect and navigate this new beginning.”