The former Wheaton woman charged with abducting her South Elgin daughter in 2017 has been returned to Kane County and is being held on $10,000 bail.
Kayla Unbehaun was 9 when she was allegedly kidnapped by her mother, Heather Unbehaun, who had visitation rights but not custody of the girl, officials said. Kayla was found safe last weekend in North Carolina and has been returned to her father.
Heather Unbehaun turned herself in at the Kane County jail Wednesday afternoon and appeared in court for bond hearing Thursday morning, court and jail records show.
Child abduction charges were filed in 2017, and Kane County Judge Julia Yetter set her bail at $10,000, meaning she must post $1,000 bond to be released. She remained in custody as of Thursday afternoon, according to jail records.
If released, Unbehaun will have to wear a GPS monitor, is prohibited from being within 1,000 feet of the child’s father’s house and cannot leave Illinois without court permission.
She also cannot have contact with anyone listed in an order of protection the father obtained Wednesday, court records show.
An employee of a Plato’s Closet used clothing store in Asheville, North Carolina, was the one who alerted police after she recalled seeing Kayla’s story chronicled on an episode of a Netflix show “Unsolved Mysteries,” according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.
South Elgin police confirmed the identities of the girl and her mother. Kayla was then taken into protective custody until her father could pick her up, police said.
Kayla’s father, Ryan Iskerka, had a five-year relationship with Heather Unbehaun, and Kayla is the couple’s only child, The The (Elgin) Courier-News reported in 2018. Until Monday, he hadn’t seen his daughter since July 4, 2017.
Kayla, now 15, is in good condition and good spirits since being reunited with her family, police said in a news release.
Heather Unbehaun’s next scheduled court date is June 14.