On Sunday, February 13 around 7 AM, the Beaverhead County Dispatch Center was advised of a Be On the Lookout Out (BOLO) for a female who fled the state of Utah after taking four children she did not have custody of.
The female was armed and dangerous, threatening harm if confronted. Cedar City Utah police tracked her cell phone south of the Clark Canyon Dam. Deputies with the assistance of the Montana Highway Patrol searched the area but were unable to locate her due to delayed information on her location.
Around 4 PM, Beaverhead County Dispatch Center received a tip from a missing children specialist with the State of Montana proving an updated location, vehicle information, and the license plate number of the female suspect.
Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office, Dillon Police Department, and Montana Highway Patrol began looking for a U-Haul trailer rented by one of the suspects. Officers stopped a twenty-six-foot U-Haul traveling North on I-15 just south of Dillon. One male suspect was taken into custody and one of the four missing children was safely recovered.
After interviews and investigation, officials learned that the non-custodial mother and three remaining children were at a hotel in Missoula. Officials also learned that the mother had another 16-year-old male helping her flee with the children.
The suspects were taken into custody and all the children were safely returned to their parents. The suspects are pending felony charges of Custodial Interference, Kidnapping, and others. They will be transported back to Utah.
“The Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office extends our immense gratitude to our amazing dispatchers, our deputies, the Dillon Police Department, Montana Highway Patrol, the Missoula Police Department and their helpful dispatch center, and the dispatchers and officers of Cedar City Utah,” said Beaverhead County Sheriff David Wendt.
