An Illinois teen has been reunited with her dad, officials say, after her mother allegedly abducted 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 failed to return her to her father.
Both Kayla and Heather Unbehaun's photos were briefly featured recently on Netflix's "Unsolved Mysteries" in November 2022.
A police spokesperson told NBC Chicago that a woman at a Plato's Closet in Asheville, North Carolina, recognized Heather Unbehaun from "published media" and contacted officials.
Additionally, Lt. Jonathan Brown and PIO Samantha Booth at Asheville Police tells NBC News via phone that the witness, a minor employed at the store, believed she may have recognized the girl from childhood or a personal connection. The witness told her manager, who contacted police. Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries” was specifically mentioned in the report.
Heather Unbehuan, 40, was arrested Saturday in Asheville on a fugitive charge, according to prosecutors. Chris Nelson from the Kane County (Illinois) State's Attorney's Office tells TODAY.com that she faces a charge of child abduction, which is a Class 4 felony.
"If she’s convicted of that, she’d be looking at probation or one to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections," he says.
Nelson confirms the teen has been reunited with her father and that Heather Unbehaun has been released on bail. She is slated to appear in court in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on July 11 but did not waive extradition, he says.
Kayla Unbehaun was last seen in July 2017 in her mother's care following a Fourth of July parade in Wheaton, Illinois, according to a GoFundMe page her father, Ryan Iskerka, created at the time.
The suburb is 28 miles due west of Chicago.
He wrote that he was supposed to 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 thrilled 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 of the law enforcement agencies who assisted with 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.
CORRECTION (May 17, 2023 at 12:45 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the public information officer of Asheville Police Department as Samantha Barry. Her name is Samantha Booth and this story has been updated.
