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Posted: Friday, 03 July 2009 8:09AM
Plano mom charged with abducting daughter
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YORKVILLE (STNG) -- A woman has been charged with kidnapping her 3-year-old daughter from Plano Wednesday night, setting off a statewide search for the girl.
Rheannon Jerman was found safe with her mother in an apartment on Chicago's West Side Thursday morning, not long after an Amber Alert was issued by Illinois State Police.
The Kendall County state's attorney's office said late Wednesday night her mother, Theresa Harskey, 40, of the 500 block of May Street in Plano, took Rheannon's father's Toyota Sienna minivan, $3,000 cash and ID cards when she grabbed the girl.
Rheannon's father had been in the hospital for a medical emergency; he was scheduled for hip surgery, but was experiencing pain, police said. When he returned home, the mother and child were gone, Plano police Lt. Jonathan Whowell said.
Harskey was already prohibited from unsupervised visitation with Rheannon based on an order of protection issued in Kendall County, prosecutors said.
Harskey has a history of drug use, Plano police said. The order of protection restricts her from being alone with the child without the supervision of the father, police said.
According to DCFS spokesman Jimmie Whitelow, there also was a prior allegation of child neglect against Harskey in May.
Plano police were called after Rheannon was taken. An Amber Alert was issued, sending out the description of Harseky and Rheannon to media and police departments across the state.
When the child abduction alert went out, a description of the girl – 2-feet, 9-inches tall and 40 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair -- flashed along digital screens on area tollways during the morning commute, at least until 7 a.m.
About 5:30 a.m. Thursday, a concerned resident called Chicago Police after learning of the description of the girl and her mother in an Amber Alert. The resident said Harskey and the child were in an apartment in the 300 block of South Whipple Street, police said. Chicago Police found the mother and child there in good condition.
Harskey was charged with child abduction, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, theft, identity theft and violation of an order of protection, prosecutors said.
A man on the front porch of the May Street home Thursday identified himself as Rheannon's father, but declined to comment. A woman who was seen entering the home would not give her name, simply saying, "The baby's fine."
Authorities were seen on the May Street block in the Lakewood Springs subdivision on Thursday asking residents if they knew Harskey or ever saw her. A neighbor, who did not give his name, said the occupants of the home are new to the neighborhood and he didn't know them.
Harskey is being held in the Kendall County jail. Her bond will be set Friday, prosecutors said.
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Copyright 2009 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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