Left: Zachary Delozier; Center: Isaiah Schryvers; Right: Sara Gaudino. (Iowa County Sheriff’s Office — Wisconsin)
A trio of South Dakotan adults were arrested in Wisconsin on Sunday after an 11-year-old girl was abducted from her home in Indiana the night before, authorities say. The child in question is now safe.
Zachary Delozier, 27, Sara Gaudino, 23, and Isaiah Schryvers, 24, stand accused of one count each of kidnapping a minor, according to the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office — the arresting agency located in the middle-western reaches of the Badger State. All three were wanted on warrants issued by the Wells County Sheriff’s Office — which is located in the far northeastern area of the Hoosier State.
By the time of the arrests, the allegedly purloined girl had traveled over 350 miles from home — and through adjacent northern Illinois.
Late Saturday, Wells County issued a “silver alert” for the missing girl — saying she had last been seen at around 3:30 p.m. in Zanesville — a small town some 17 miles southwest of Fort Wayne.
The local sheriff’s office, in a Facebook post containing the girl’s name and photo, said she was potentially “picked up in a white Dodge Caravan” at Stoney Creek Estates Mobile Home Park.
A local search party was organized after the girl was reported missing, according to Fort Wayne-based ABC affiliate WPTA. Dozens of agencies were soon scouring the area to find her — including with the use of drones and at least one helicopter provided by state troopers.
A local search went on for seven hours. The silver alert remained in effect as officials determined she was no longer in Zanesville. During the early morning hours on Sunday, all searches were called off.
According to the two-states-over sheriff’s office, officials received word the wanted vehicle was spotted at the Kwik Trip gas station in the small village of Barneveld. While law enforcement headed in that direction, the Dodge Caravan left — ending up in nearby Dodgeville.
There, local police and sheriff’s deputies initiated a traffic stop along U.S. Highway 151, and the child was “safely removed,” the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office wrote in their Facebook post.
“As Iowa County Sheriff, I can’t thank everyone enough,” Michael Peterson said. “Being out there with this great group of professionals, watching all these agencies come together, taking these three adults into custody quickly, and removing this 11-year-old female from this situation so she can return to her family is an amazing feeling. Thank you for making a difference in our communities.”
Details about the alleged kidnapping are scarce.
None of the agencies involved in the case have floated a motive for the three adults’ alleged plan. Nor have they said where the defendants are believed to have been trying to take the girl.
The relationship between the alleged abductee and the adults who took her, if one exists, is also not immediately clear. The girl does not share the same last name as any of her alleged kidnappers.
Extradition will be the next step in prosecuting the three charged adults — all of whom hail from two cities in South Dakota.
Wells County officials say the investigation is ongoing.
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