AMES, Iowa — A 6-year-old Ames girl has been found safe just over four months after she was reported missing, over 1,000 miles away from Iowa.
The Ames Police Department said the girl was located safely off the coast of Portland, Maine with her non-custodial mother, 41-year-old Esther Bender.
Bender "unlawfully removed [the girl] from the State of Iowa" and was in violation of a court order, Ames PD said. She was arrested on Peaks Island in Maine and has been charged with Violation of Custodial Order, a serious misdemeanor in Iowa.
"When information started to come together that she was in Maine, then we reached out to local authorities there and it was pretty quick after that that they were able to locate her safe," Sgt. Amber Christian with the Ames Police Department told Local 5.
Police say Bender left a note to a relative, writing that she had left with her daughter and planned on disappearing for several years.
"A shout out to many of our officers involved with helping the Ames, Iowa PD locate [the girl]," the Portland, Maine Police Department wrote on Facebook.
Bender is eligible for bond but could be extradited back to Iowa, according to Christian. The girl will return to the custody of her biological father.
Police ask that anyone with information on this case call the department at 515-239-5133 or the anonymous tip line at 515-239-5533. Tips can also be sent to Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa at 515-223-1400 or anonymously online.
This is a developing story. Local 5 News will update this story when more details become available.
