A woman is under arrest in Missouri after she allegedly kidnapped an infant in Florida almost 13 years ago and has been posing as the boy’s mother.
Sandy Hatte, 60, is the biological grandmother of the boy and allegedly took him from the father without consent while she was watching him in Florida between December 2000 and February 2001.
School officials became suspicious of Hatte when she tried to enroll the boy at a school in Livingston County, Missouri, Wednesday.
“From my understanding, a little over 30 days ago, the suspect and child allegedly established residency at a friend of a friend of a friend’s in Livingston County,” said Sheriff Steve Cox, News Press Now reports. “A short time later, the child enrolled in public school, but there were some really weird things that threw up red flags for school officials, who were helping with the enrollment.”
According to Associated Press, Hatte had been acting as the boy’s mother and had moved them around to many areas before Livingston County, where they had only been for about 30 days.
The child and his biological father were finally reunited. Hatte has been charged with one count of child abduction and is being held on $25,000 bond.
There were no signs that Hatte had abused the boy.