Kids told to hide under bed after mom kidnaps them from child services, Louisiana cops say
Three kids crawled and hid under a bed as police sought their mother and a friend who are accused of abducting them during a supervised visit, according to Louisiana authorities.
Cecelia Moore, 26, and Jacob Putman, 29, are charged with three counts of aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping after authorities said they devised a plan to take back Moore’s kids from the Department of Children and Family Services, Monroe police wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
Under Louisiana law, aggravated kidnapping carries a penalty of life in prison “without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.”
Moore told police she had a supervised visit around 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 3, at the Tilt Studio Pecanaland arcade where she and Putman fled with her kids — ages 6 months, 5 and 7 years old, according to the report. The 5- and 7-year-old followed Putman while Moore “ran outside to the vehicle with the 6 month old.”
She directed Putman to drive to a home in Swartz and drop them off, police said. Putnam was supposed to come back and pick them up before they headed to Vicksburg, Mississippi — more than 70 miles away. Moore advised her kids to hide under the bed as she hid in an attic when officers caught up to them, the report reads.
The kids weren’t harmed and have been returned to their foster parents, a department spokesperson told McClatchy News. Authorities did not say why the children are in protective custody.
Moore and Putman were arrested May 3 and booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center where they remain held as of Thursday, May 5, online records show.
Monroe is about 190 miles northwest of Baton Rouge.
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 9:22 AM with the headline "Kids told to hide under bed after mom kidnaps them from child services, Louisiana cops say."