A popular television show recently assisted the FBI to capture a Pennsylvania woman accused of parental child abduction. The woman kidnapped her son several years ago, and within 24 hours of the show being aired, the FBI had received tips that led to her arrest.
The kidnapping happened after a shared custody order was issued regarding the woman’s son in August 2014. Instead of following the order, the mother fled the state with her son on a bus two months later. The child and the mother had been missing since November 2014. After the kidnapping, authorities charged the woman with interfering with a custody order. She was also charged with concealing the location of a child and unlawful flight.
Three years later, however, the television series “The Hunt with John Walsh” aired the story during an unsolved cases episode. Tips soon came to the FBI, stating that the woman had been seen in Raymond, Washington. The FBI quickly located the woman, arrested her, and took the child into custody until the father arrived. Until they received the tips from the television show, the FBI assumed that the woman and her son had been lost.
It is not uncommon for children to be abducted by their parents following a child custody order that a parent doesn’t agree with. Sometimes, parents flee to other countries, or they just flee to other states, making it difficult to track the fleeing parent and children down. If you are dealing with a parent who violated a child custody order like this, it’s important to contact authorities and take legal action as quickly as possible.
Source: PhillyVoice, “FBI thanks TV show for helping capture Pennsylvania mom accused of abduction,” Daniel Craig, Sep. 19, 2017
