Missing girl found 6 years after disappearance l GMA

GMA cover story The Missing Illinois girl found six years after her mother abducted her her story was part of a true crime series series Arrow Russia is here with the details good morning Ariel good morning to you George Kayla and her mom were last seen in 2017 in Illinois somehow her mother managed to evade police for six years but with the help of someone in North Carolina who recognized Kayla from that Netflix show she is now reunited with her father her mother facing charges this morning a 15 year old girl remarkably reunited with her father nearly six years after police say she was abducted her mother arrested and just released on bond authorities say Heather unbajan did not have custody of her daughter but ran away with then nine-year-old Kayla in 2017 from Illinois the pair's photo shown briefly on the Netflix documentary Unsolved Mysteries in an episode about parents who kidnap their own children police say a store worker in North Carolina who also had a personal connection with Kayla recognized her from the Netflix series and alerted her manager who then called police we were contacted and we had officers arrive and they began their investigation and through their investigative efforts were able to eventually positively identify the mother according to police Kayla was last seen with her mother after a Fourth of July parade in 2017. her father Ryan was scheduled to pick up Kayla from her mother's home the next day but neither Kayla or her mother were there after first reporting his daughter missing back in 2017 Ryan worked closely with the national Center for missing and exploited children sharing photos and messages to her in a desperate search for answers the father was absolutely incredible in helping us and providing us with images of the family and that's really what's key in doing these age progression photos age progressed photos you need pictures of family members Mom Dad brother sister Aunt uncles as many family members as you can and the father was great in providing that the investigation is ongoing but it still remains unclear just how this mother was able to evade police for so long for them not to be detected over a period of five or six years is really really uncommon and that Good Samaritan who spotted Kayla and called police didn't want to be identified but told ABC News it was the right thing to do Kayla's Father Ryan is now so relieved to have his daughter home safe and in good condition he thanked all of those responsible for bringing her home and requested privacy as they navigate A New Beginning guys remarkable so glad she's home thank you Ariel hi everyone George Stephanopoulos here thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel if you'd like to get more videos show highlights and watch live event coverage click on the right over here to subscribe to our Channel and don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts thanks for watching

Channel: ABC News

Views: 942,600

Keywords: 2017, Carolina, Mysteries, Netflix, North, Unsolved, abc, disappearance, girl, gma, missing, news, p_cmsid=2494279, p_vid=news-99385505, safe

Id: D_uvZWIFM60

Length: 2min 55sec (175 seconds)

Published: Wed May 17 2023