In a remarkable turn of events, a young girl who was taken by her mother at the age of 9 from her father’s custody in 2017 has been discovered safe and well in North Carolina. The breakthrough came when a store owner recognized her after watching her story unfold on the popular Netflix series, Unsolved Mysteries.
The girl, Kayla Unbehaun, had been unlawfully taken by her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun. The last confirmed sighting of Kayla was on July 4, 2017. At the time, her father, Ryan Iskerka, who held full custody rights, went to collect her from her mother’s residence in Wheaton, South Elgin, on July 5. Shockingly, Kayla was nowhere to be found, leaving her father in anguish and despair.
Last weekend, 40-year-old Heather Unbehaun was apprehended in Asheville, North Carolina, following an incident where a store owner spotted her daughter, Kayla, at a nearby shopping center. The store owner had recognized Kayla from an episode of a Netflix show that detailed her disappearance, and promptly alerted the authorities.
Heather, who had visitation privileges at the time of the abduction, is now being detained on a bond worth $250,000. She is currently awaiting extradition.
Kayla, now 15 years old, is currently under protective custody. Her case was featured in an episode titled ‘Abducted by a Parent’ on Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries series. In the episode, Kayla is showcased at the end as part of a Missing Children Roll, alongside other individuals such as CJ and Billy Vosseler, Luis Alderete-Martinez, Huaiyu and Binyu Chin, Reuben Blackwell Jr., Tammy and Diego Flores, and Christopher and Lisa Zaharias.
Following her abduction, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shared online alerts featuring photos of Kayla when she was 9 years old, as well as age-progression images depicting her likely current appearance.
Upon receiving the news of Kayla’s discovery, the organization relayed a message from her father, Ryan, expressing his immense joy and gratitude towards the Elgin Police Department, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and all the law enforcement agencies involved in her case. Ryan also requested privacy as they reunite and embark on this new chapter together.
Heather Unbehaun was charged by the Kane County State’s Attorney with one count of child abduction upon her discovery.
Lt. Diana Loveland from the Asheville Police Department in North Carolina commented to ABC, stating, “It is unusual but it’s good that when someone does suspect that they recognize someone, no matter how old the story might be, that they are not afraid to give us a call so we can come and investigate.”
Just two weeks ago, the identity of a Texan woman, who had been abducted as a toddler 51 years ago, was officially confirmed through a DNA test. Last year, Melissa Highsmith, now 53, was joyously reunited with her biological family after being taken from her parents’ home in Fort Worth at the tender age of 22 months by a babysitter.
On November 26, Melissa miraculously reunited with her biological parents, Jeffrie Highsmith (72) and Alta Alpantenco (73), as well as her siblings, including Rebecca Del Bosque (48), Victoria Highsmith (47), Sharon Highsmith (45), and Jeffrey Highsmith (42).
The Fort Worth Police Department played a crucial role in the reunion, announcing the completion of official DNA testing that confirmed Melissa’s true identity as the long-lost child. Astonishingly, while her family had tirelessly searched across the country for over five decades, Melissa had been living just ten minutes away.
Ultimately, it was through the DNA samples of Melissa’s own children, shared on the genealogy website 23andMe, that her parents and siblings were able to track her down and bring their years-long quest to a heartwarming conclusion.
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