ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A then-9-year-old who was allegedly abducted in 2017 by her non-custodial mother in northern Illinois was found safe in Asheville, North Carolina, on Saturday after someone recognized her mother from a Netflix series, NBC Chicago reports.
Kayla Unbehaun's mother, Heather Unbehaun, allegedly took Kayla from South Elgin, Illinois, on July 5, 2017. According to reports, Kayla's father had gone to pick up Kayla that day, but he discovered Heather had packed up their car and left town with Kayla.
The Kane County State's Attorney's office issued a warrant for Heather Unbehaun weeks later. Still, no one had seen them until a woman in an Asheville Plato's Closet said she recognized Heather from media reports and called the police.
The Netflix series "Unsolved Mysteries" featured Kayla's disappearance alongside multiple other pending family abduction cases back in November 2022.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children agency said this is the result of plastering a missing child’s face throughout the community.
"All it takes is one set of eyes to be a hero," said John Bischoff, Vice President of the agency's missing children division "Once one person sees something, recognizes it of some sort, and most importantly, says something. And that's what leads us to wonderful outcomes as we're seeing right now."
Bischoff said the agency has assisted in more than 400,000 missing child cases and the fight to find missing children never stops.
"Anytime we're able to help identify a missing child and get them home where they need to be is an extremely exciting time for us as an organization," he said.
Kayla’s dad, Ryan, shared the following reaction with the center:
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 of the law enforcement agencies who assisted with her case. I also want to thank all of the followers on the "Bring Kayla Home” Facebook page, who helped keep her story alive and were instrumental in spreading awareness. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.
Whether it takes days, months, or years, the organization said behind every missing child's poster is a team of people working tirelessly to find them and bring them home. And every reunion is a happy ending that brings hope to others.
The organization encourages people to share missing children posters. Bischoff adds when you come across one take the time to really look at it because it could be you who calls in saying you recognize a missing child and it leads to a reunion.
"It's cases that we see today like Kayla's case, and her father and the wonderful work done in Asheville," said Bischoff. "It gives every searching parent hope, hope that they're gonna find their missing child, and gives us hope here at the national center, just to keep up the fight because these children are out there."
Kayla, who is now 15 years old, is now in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Social Services and will be reunited with her family soon. Less than a month ago, the NCMEC published an age-progressed photo of what Kayla would possibly look like at age 15.
Her mother was arrested and most likely will be extradited to northern Illinois to face charges.
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