A boy kidnapped in Iowa on Sunday was found safe and sound at an Indiana gas station nearly 360 miles away the next morning.
The unidentified 11-year-old girl was taken from Iowa City on Sunday, and police deduced that the girl was taken by a non-custodial parent who was attempting to take her back to the East Coast with her. according to WTHR.
Authorities said they believed the mother was traveling through Indiana and alerted Indiana State Police around 2 a.m. Monday.
Indiana State Police immediately began searching and identified a suspicious vehicle, a gray 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix, at a gas station off Interstate 65 about 40 minutes later. CBS 2 Iowa reports.
Officers then found the child safe inside the vehicle with two adults.
Ronique Pittman, 36, was arrested on a child abduction warrant in Iowa.
Then, Ronique Pittman, 36, was arrested on a child abduction warrant from Iowa.
A family member has since charged her in Johnson County with violating a custody order. The Daily Iowan reports.
A criminal complaint obtained by CBS 2 Iowa shows Pittman was stripped of his parental rights on May 5, 2022.
Authorities said she told the boy’s father that she planned to take him to North Carolina, where she lives.
The 11-year-old boy was safely detained by Indiana State Police, before going to the Department of Children’s Services to arrange a meeting with the custodial parent.