Mom wanted in kidnapping of 6-year-old daughter arrested in Virginia

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- A woman wanted in the kidnapping of her 6-year-old daughter in Downingtown has been arrested in Virginia. According to police, Vanessa Gutshall abducted her daughter during a supervised visit at East Ward Elementary School on Tuesday.

The 6-year-old was found safe on Thursday. 

The supervisor of the visit told police the mother fled with the child in a gray 2016 Volkswagen Jetta, license plate number KXR-3699.   

Gutshall was seen later that day at the Rivertowne Restaurant & Bar in Wrightsville, PA, about an hour west of Downingtown near York, without the child.

An Amber Alert was issued by Pennsylvania State Police soon after. 

Gutshall was arrested by Fairfax County Police in Mclean, VA, on Oct. 27 at approximately 11:30 a.m. after police observed a stolen Virginia license plate on the same vehicle in which she fled with the child. Authorities say another license plate had been affixed to the car to conceal the child.

In:
• Pennsylvania
• Amber Alert
• Chester County

Ross DiMattei

Ross DiMattei comes to Philadelphia from KTNV-TV in Las Vegas, where he anchored and reported for more than two years. He is most proud of his interview with then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, extensive reporting on Las Vegas' economic recovery from COVID-19, and breaking news coverage of George Floyd protests in Las Vegas, for which he won a regional Emmy Award.