Girl who went missing in 2017 reunited with family after store owner recognises her from Netflix series

The missing person’s poster that was shared at the time of Kayla Unbehaun’s abduction in 2017. Picture: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children/Twitter

The missing person’s poster that was shared at the time of Kayla Unbehaun’s abduction in 2017. Picture: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children/Twitter

Published May 18, 2023

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Kayla Unbehaun, who went missing in 2017, has been reunited with her family after a North Carolina store owner recognised her from the Netflix series, “Unsolved Mysteries”.

According to “People” magazine, the Illinois resident was 9 years old when she was abducted.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) said Kayla was abducted by her mother, Heather Unbehaun, from South Elgin in Illinois on July 5, 2017.

Heather reportedly took her camping and failed to bring her back home. She did not have custody rights over her daughter.

A store owner in Asheville in North Carolina identified the now 15-year-old while watching the Netflix series which aired late last year. The matter was reported to the authorities and Heather was arrested.

Netflix shared the update in a tweet.

— Netflix (@netflix) May 16, 2023

Unbehaun’s father Ryan Iserka asked NCMEC to share this statement on his behalf:

“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.”

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