A pair who were arrested in 2018 for Harboring a Juvenile and Obstruction of Justice have now been charged with 1st Degree Felony Child Kidnapping for the December incidence. According to the Probable Cause Statement, on the night of
December 4th
, 44-year-old Jared Craig Ekker and 36-year-old Laura Beth Moore allegedly brought the 11-year-old victim into their trailer after seeing her walking outside. “The 11-year-old victim told police that [Ekker] had a gun when [he] called to her from his trailer. The victim told [Ekker] and [Moore] that she was 11-years-old and that she had run away. [Ekker] had a police scanner in his trailer and was listening to the police as they searched for the victim throughout the night and into the morning. At some point the victim told [Ekker] and [Moore] that she had been there long enough and that she wanted to leave and… go see her mom,” shares court documents. “[Ekker] locked the door to the trailer [and] told the 11-year-old victim that she could not leave.” Court documents explain that the next morning, [Ekker] tried to arrange for a friend to pick up the girl and take her away from his residence. Thankfully, police were able to recover the girl from the trailer after receiving a call from one of Ekker’s family members. At the time of their arrest in December, law enforcement emphasized that significant manpower and resources had been utilized in the 16-hour search for the missing girl, searching sheds and properties in the area including around the trailer where the girl was eventually located. The charge of felony Child Kidnapping was filed in 8th District Court on Monday, June 3rd.
