SOUTH ELGIN, Ill. — A girl who was abducted from South Elgin when she was 9-years-old was found safe in North Carolina — six years later, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Kayla Unbehaun was abducted by her mother — Heather Unbehaun — on July 5, 2017 while on a camping trip in South Elgin. After going on the trip with her daughter, the two dropped out of sight.
Ryan Iserka, Kayla’s father, was supposed to pick up his daughter from her mother’s Wheaton home, but neither turned up. Unbehaun did not have custody rights of Kayla.
Unbehaun, 40, was arrested after Kayla was found Saturday in Buncombe County, North Carolina and reunited with her father. Unbehaun faces child abduction charges out of Kane County and is set to be extradited to Illinois.
Iserka issued the following statement through the NCMEC:
“I’m overjoyed that Kayla is home safe. I want to thank @ElginPDFD, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and all of the law enforcement agencies who assisted with her case. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.”
Kayla is now 15.
