A Poplar Bluff woman was arrested Wednesday in west Texas for allegedly kidnapping her children.
According to a press release from Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs, Kayla Heins, 26, of Poplar Bluff was taken into custody Wednesday in Amarillo, Texas, on a pair of Butler County warrants for parental kidnapping.
The charges stem from a March 28 incident in which the Missouri Children’s Division was in the process of removing Heins’ minor children from her custody, according to officials. Authorities report Heins fled to the state of Texas with the children.
Heins was arrested by Texas detectives, who were tracking her EBT card activity, Dobbs said. Both children were safe and unharmed.
Heins will be extradited back to the Missouri once the judicial extradition process has been completed, he said.
Parental kidnapping is a Class E felony in Missouri and each count carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison or one year in jail, and a fine of up to $10,000.