ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — A St. Charles County girl who was taken by her mother without permission has been found safe, police said.
St. Charles County police announced Wednesday afternoon that the 7-year-old was found safe and her mother, 35-year-old Valerie Baker, was taken into custody in St. George, Utah.
Police said Baker, a non-custodial parent, took her daughter without permission from a supervised visit Monday afternoon.
"We are so pleased the little girl is safe. She will be reunited with her grandparents as soon as possible," said St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar in a Wednesday statement. "The complete disregard this mother showed for a court order and more importantly, for the safety and well-being of her own daughter is despicable. Now we can turn our attention toward sending a message that this sort of behavior cannot and will not be tolerated. We are incredibly appreciative of the dedication of all law enforcement officers involved. We also are especially thankful for the thousands of citizens who shared social media posts in an effort to find this little girl."
On Tuesday, prosecutors announced charges against Baker of interference with custody and fourth-degree assault. At that point, Baker's car had last been seen west of Denver heading toward the Utah border.
"At the time of this incident, the Department of Social Services Children’s Division had court-ordered legal custody of both minor children, and Baker had no lawful custody of the children of any kind," the press release announcing the charges said.
According to a missing person report from the St. Charles County Police Department, Baker pushed a caseworker and took the girl. The report said Baker then drove away from the St. Charles City-County Boone’s Trail library in a dark blue 2018 Toyota Corolla.
St. Charles County police released surveillance photos of the car Tuesday morning. Police said the car was damaged last November when Baker intentionally crashed it into her parents' St. Charles County home and attempted to abduct her son and daughter.
Baker's parents have custody of their grandchildren.
"She actually rammed her vehicle into the garage door of her parents' house and then she eventually made entry through the front door and at which time there was a confrontation between her and her parents," said Captain David Tiefenbrunn with the St. Charles County Police Department.
