Woman Accused Of Kidnapping Son In Venice Arrested In Marina Del Rey

VENICE, CA -- A 35-year-old mother who allegedly abducted her 6-year- old son from his elementary school in Venice on Wednesday morning was arrested in Marina Del Rey and the boy rescued after a short police chase.

Nishia Burnett-Hayer, who does not have legal custody of her son, was arrested about 7:30 p.m. after she got out of her car and ran with the boy in her arms into a Harley Davidson shop in the 4100 block of Lincoln Boulevard, according to authorities and reports from the scene.

Officers could be seen taking the boy, West Burnett, from the shop after the woman was taken into custody.

West, who has lived with an aunt for the past year, had last been seen at 8:35 a.m. at Coeur D' Alene Avenue Elementary School in the 800 block of Coeur D' Alene Avenue, according to a statement released by the Los Angeles Police Department.

An Amber Alert was issued for the boy, who police said was taken from school in his mother's gold 2004 BMW 530i.

Before she was arrested, Burnett-Hayer, with her son seated in the front seat beside her, called out from the window of her car to tell an ABC7 news crew that she did not kidnap the boy.

-- City News Service, photo courtesy of the LAPD