An Illinois teenager has been reunited with her father, officials say, after her mother allegedly kidnapped her nearly six years ago.
Kayla Unbehaun, 15, was just 9 years old when she went missing in 2017 while in the care of her mother, Heather Unbehaun. A spokesperson for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children tells TODAY.com that the mother had partial custody of the child at the time and could not return her to her father.
Both Kayla and Heather Unbehaun’s photos were recently briefly featured on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries” in November 2022.
A police spokesman told NBC Chicago that a woman shopping at a Plato’s Closet in Asheville, North Carolina, recognized Heather Unbehaun from “published media” and contacted officials.
Heather Unbehuan, 40, was arrested Saturday in Asheville on fugitive charges, prosecutors said. Chris Nelson of the Kane County (Illinois) State’s Attorney’s Office tells TODAY.com she is being charged with child abduction, which is a Class 4 felony.
“If convicted, she will face probation or one to three years with the Illinois Department of Corrections,” he says.
Nelson confirms that the teen has been reunited with her father and that Heather Unbehaun has been released on bail. She is due to appear in court on July 11 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, but will not waive her extradition, he says.
Kayla Unbehaun was last seen in July 2017 in the care of her mother after a Fourth of July parade in Wheaton, Illinois, according to a GoFundMe page her father, Ryan Iskerka, created at the time.
The suburb is located 28 miles west of Chicago.
He wrote that he would meet Heather Unbehuan on July 5 to pick up Kayla, but the two never arrived.
In a statement shared through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on May 16, Iskerka said he was delighted to be reunited with his daughter.
“I’m overjoyed that Kayla is home safe. I want to thank the South Elgin Police Department, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and all law enforcement agencies who assisted in her case,” Iskerka said in the statement. “We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.”
It is not clear if Heather Unbehuan has legal representation and her family could not be immediately reached at the phone numbers listed for them, NBC News reported.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
