Nearly six years after being taken by her non-custodial mother in South Elgin, Kayla Unbehaun who is now 15 has been found. Her father, Ryan Iskerka has earned the public’s attention. Who is he?

Kayla Unbehaun was reportedly discovered safe in North Carolina, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Kayla was 9 years old when her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun, abducted her from South Elgin in 2017, according to the NMCEC.

In 2017, nine-year-old Kayla Unbehaun was allegedly kidnapped from northern Illinois by her non-custodial mother Heather Unbehaun. The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office issued a kidnapping warrant for Heather not long after the incident. She was charged with breaking the terms of the custody arrangement she had with her ex-partner Ryan Iskerka, who was in charge of Kayla Unbehaun. In November 2022, an episode of Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries included a segment on Kayla’s disappearance, which garnered widespread media interest.

Kayla Unbehaun, now 15 years old, was found safe on Saturday, May 13, 2023 in Asheville, North Carolina, some six years after the kidnapping. She was located after a woman from Plato’s Closet who wishes to remain unnamed recognized her mother, Heather, from news headlines and alerted the police.

Read Also: Who Are Kayla Unbehaun Parents?

Kayla Unbehaun Father 

Ryan Iskerka, Kayla Unbehaun’s father gave out a statement through the National Center of Missen and Exploited Children. In the statement, he said that “I am overjoyed that Kayla is home safe.”

“I want to thank the South Elgin Police Department, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and all of the law enforcement agencies who assisted with her case,” he proceeded. “I also want to thank all of the followers on the “Bring Kayla Home” Facebook page, who helped keep her story alive and were instrumental in spreading awareness. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.”

According to authorities, Heather Unbehaun was detained and will likely be extradited to northern Illinois, where she is suspected of kidnapping her daughter, who was 9 years old at the time. According to investigators, when Kayla’s father attempted to pick her up from a Wheaton location on July 5 of that year, Heather had already packed her car and left with their child the day before.

An abduction warrant for Heather was issued by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office a few weeks later. According to Samantha Booth, an Asheville police spokeswoman, the two weren’t discovered until Saturday when a customer at Plato’s Closet recognized Heather from “published media” and alerted the authorities.

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