Child abduction investigation leads to arrest of 10-year-old in Evansville motel, suspect arrested

This morning at 10:30 a.m., members of the U.S. Marshal Service contacted the Evansville Police Department requesting assistance in investigating a child abduction case that led to Evansville, Wyoming.

The U.S. Marshals provided information related to the investigation involving the parental child abduction of a 10-year-old Texas girl in October 2023.

An arrest warrant was issued for the suspect. Police had been tracking 28-year-old Courtney Klein for several weeks before she entered Wyoming.

Evansville Police and Marshals worked together on a mission to safely rescue the child and arrest the suspect without incident at an Evansville motel.

In 2022, 4.5% of the 27,644 missing children reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) were family abductions. In addition, 58% of all AMBER Alerts issued in 2022 were for family abductions.

Parents are responsible for more than 90% of abductions, mothers and female family members for 60% and fathers and male relatives for 64%.

Abducted children more often come from low-income families and have estranged, divorced or separated parents.

In two-parent families, an estimated nine out of 1,000 children are abducted, compared to 84 out of 1,000 in single-parent households.

78% of abductors are the non-custodial parent and 82% intend to permanently compromise custody.

24% of abductions last between one week and one month and in 17% of cases the child is taken to another state to complicate his or her recovery.

44% of abducted children are kept secret from their caregivers and in 76% of abductions attempts are made to prevent contact.

Only 43 percent of kidnappings are reported to the police, including 86 percent of kidnappings within the family.