Throughout six years of relentless searching, a father never lost hope of finding his kidnapped daughter.
The fear of losing a child is a common concern for all parents. One father experienced this fear for six years as he prayed for his daughter’s safe return.
Despite no way of contacting her, the father posted on social media about missing his daughter and hoping for her safety and happiness.
On January 5, 2023, the father sent a heartfelt birthday message to his missing daughter, expressing his longing for her and hoping for her safe return.
Ryan was granted exclusive custody of his daughter after facing legal challenges from her mother.
Even as hope seemed to diminish with each passing day, the father continued to pray for his daughter’s return and reminisced about their happy family memories.
During the abduction, the family was living in South Elgin, Illinois. Despite doubts, the father remained hopeful of seeing his daughter again.
The father recounted how his ex-wife took their daughter without his consent, despite their initial happiness and the protracted custody dispute that followed their separation.
After six years of searching, the father finally received positive news about his daughter.
He revealed that while he agreed to his ex-wife’s move to Athens, Georgia with their daughter, he had expected to continue seeing her, but his ex-wife relocated without informing him during the visitation arrangement.
Heather was distressed when Ryan filed for child support and visitation rights upon learning about the relocation from Kayla over the phone. Ryan described his actions as “a declaration of war” by Heather. Heather made every effort to resist the visitation schedule during the court proceedings.
Ryan had limited time with his daughter during the legal battle. He saw Kayla in person only during Heather’s Christmas visit, and he was only able to communicate with her via Skype for a few hours at a time. Ryan’s bond with his daughter suffered during their time apart, and he noticed that she would often appear distant.
After Heather attempted to challenge him in court, Ryan was awarded sole custody of their daughter. Following Kayla’s move to live with Ryan, Heather picked her up for a camping trip in July. By the time he arrived to pick up his daughter on July 5, Ryan had not heard from Heather.
When Ryan arrived at Heather’s father’s house, where he was supposed to pick up Kayla, it was vacant and locked. Heather’s felony arrest warrant was issued on July 29, 2017. Following the abduction, Ryan wrote to his daughter, vowing to never give up on her.
Recovering Kayla
After six years of searching for his daughter, Ryan finally received some amazing news. In May 2023, an employee at a store in Asheville, North Carolina, spotted Kayla and recognized her. She immediately called the police after seeing her at the store, and they responded.
The employee requested that her name and the name of the store where she works not be included in the documents to protect her anonymity. When asked why she chose to contact the police, she simply replied, “It was the right thing to do.”
After the successful location of Kayla, Lt. Diana Loveland of Asheville encouraged others to report any similar sightings in the future:
“Even though it’s rare, it’s important that people don’t hesitate to call us so we can investigate when they believe they recognize someone, regardless of how old the story may be.”
Heather was soon apprehended by the Asheville Police and placed under arrest at the Buncombe County Detention Facility in North Carolina, with a $250,000 bond.
Fortunately, Kayla’s case attracted significant attention over time. “Bring Kayla Home” was a Facebook group that Ryan and his family established to share information and raise awareness about Kayla’s abduction. The store employee recognized Kayla from “Unsolved Mysteries,” a Netflix series that also featured Kayla’s disappearance.
Ryan expressed his gratitude to everyone who raised awareness and continued to advocate for the case. “I’m relieved that Kayla is home safe,” the father added. I would like to express my gratitude to all the law enforcement agencies that assisted with her case, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the South Elgin Police Department.
Ryan’s relationship with his daughter suffered after being separated for six years. He requested anonymity in his statement as he slowly rebuilt his connection with Kayla. However, the dedicated father would not let his daughter slip away from his care once again. “There is nothing I want more than to have you back in my life,” he wrote in a 2012 letter. And now she is back.
