UPDATED: Missing 4-Year-Old Girl From Mt. Carmel Found In Chicago
Updated 07/18/11 - 5:06 p.m.
MT. CARMEL, Ill. (CBS) -- A 48-year-old man was in custody on Monday, charged with kidnapping after he allegedly took his 4-year-old niece without her parents' permission in downstate Mount Carmel over the weekend and was then found in downtown Chicago Monday afternoon.
Illinois State Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said that John Mallory and his niece, Taytum Lewis, were found in Chicago after their disappearance triggered an alert that the two were last seen in a white 1998 Chevy conversion van.
Mount Carmel Police Chief Jeff Besing said that Mallory took Taytum from Mount Carmel on Saturday, without her parents' permission, then showed up at a relative's home in Chicago on Sunday.
Chicago Police and Illinois State Police coordinated a search for the van, which had been reported stolen by Taytum's parents.
Police found the van Monday afternoon, abandoned near the intersection of Upper Stetson Avenue and Lake Street. Mallory and his niece were found nearby.
The girl was taken to a local hospital to be checked out and Besing told WBBM Newsradio 780's Steve Miller that Mallory has been charged with kidnapping. He said it was a "blessing" that Taytum had been found safe.
Besing said Mallory is being held on $50,000 cash bond, which means he has to come up with the entire amount to bond out.
Besing said he plans to travel to Chicago to interview Mallory.
