Kidnapped Toddler Rescued After Story Airs on TV

When a Putnam County resident turned on CNN’s “The Hunt” Sunday night chances are seeing a neighbor featured on the show wasn’t expected.

But, that’s exactly what the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says happened. That viewing, in turn, resulted in the recovery of a 3-year-old girl reported missing from Sunrise, Fla., in May 2014 and the arrest of her own mother on kidnapping charges.

Lilly Abigail Baumann, now 3, was initially reported missing from the Sunrise area. Her mother, Megan Everett, 24, was implicated in the crime, the sheriff’s office reported on its Facebook page. The hunt for Everett and the little girl was going nowhere fast, until the John Walsh show “The Hunt” prompted that Putnam County resident into action.

The resident “recognized the mother and daughter and knew they were living on Motes Lane, south of Palatka,” the sheriff’s office said. The viewer contacted CNN. CNN contacted the FBI.

As agents from the Daytona Beach FBI office traveled to Putnam County, deputies there were asked to check on the house in question.

“Captain Joseph Wells and Captain Dominic Piscitello led a team of deputies to the residence, and upon surrounding the house, observed the mother and daughter inside,” the sheriff’s office stated.

When all was said and done, Lilly was recovered safely and her mother was brought into police custody Monday.

Everett now faces kidnapping, interference with custody and concealing a minor contrary to a court order charges. A federal warrant was also issued for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, the sheriff’s office noted.

Everett was being held in the Putnam County jail without bond while Lilly was put into the care of Putnam County’s victim’s advocate while her father made the trip from Sunrise to reunite with his daughter.

Photos courtesy of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office