A testament to the power of media exposure and public awareness to help find missing persons and bring them back to safety.
After a North Carolina store owner spotted the 15-year-old in a recent episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” on Netflix, he alerted the police.
The father of an Illinois child who went missing nearly six years ago when she was nine is “very happy” officials found his daughter Tuesday.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children announced that Kayla Unbehaun, now 15, was found safe and sound in North Carolina on Tuesday morning.
The group said in a tweet that Kayle was just 9 years old when her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun, kidnapped her from South Elgin, Illinois, on July 5, 2017.
In a statement released by NCMEC, Unbehaun’s father, Ryan Iserka, said, “I am extremely happy that Kayla is home safely.” I would like to express my gratitude to the [Elgin, Illinois, police and fire department], the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and all the other law enforcement agencies that assisted in her case. As we navigate this new beginning and learn to get to know each other again, we ask for privacy.
NBC 5 and ABC 7 Chicago reported that Kayla was found after the owner of Plato’s Closet in Asheville, N.C., recognized the girl from an episode of the Netflix show “Unsolved Mysteries” released last November.
The girl’s mother was detained by police when the store owner called 911.
According to Chicago’s WGN-TV, charges of child abduction are being filed against the mother, Heather Unbehaun. She was released on bond Tuesday, according to WLOS-TV.
It is unclear at this time if she has hired an attorney or filed a lawsuit.
According to WGN, Kayla was reported missing in the summer of 2017 after her mother allegedly took her camping and the two never returned.
On the way, Iserka was supposed to pick up her daughter at Heather’s home in Wheaton, Illinois. According to the publication, Heather did not get custody of Kayla.
Iserka previously said in a GoFundMe campaign that has generated thousands of dollars to help search for his daughter that “it was determined that all of Heather’s social media has been taken down and her phone turned off.” As of the Fourth of July [in 2017], “as far as we know, no one has been able to contact or speak with her.”
NBC says. After her discovery last weekend, Kayla was placed in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Human Services and will soon be reunited with her family in Illinois.
Kayla’s reunion with her father is a moment of joy and relief that marks the end of a long and difficult chapter in their lives. The focus now shifts to supporting Kayla as she adjusts to being reunited with her family and begins the process of healing and rebuilding her life.