The full true story of Kayla Unbehaun’s disappearance now she has been found alive

Kayla Unbehaun, whose case was featured on Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries, was recently found alive after being spotted by a woman who had watched the episode about her.

A month after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an age-progression picture of what Kayla would look like now, at 15 years old, she was spotted by a store owner and was reunited with her father.

Kayla gained interest worldwide after being reported missing six years ago and when her case was featured on Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries. Here is the full true story of Kayla Unbehaun’s disappearance.

via National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Kayla was abducted at nine years old in July 2017 after a day visiting her mother, Heather, at a Fourth of July parade in Illinois. Kayla’s father, who has full custody of her, went to pick her up from her mother’s house only to realise they were both missing. He also found that all of Heather’s social media and phone had been shut down.

A national arrest warrant was issued for her mother’s extradition. Kayla was added to the national database dedicated to missing children after information about her disappearance was shared with the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Kayla Unbehaun’s disappearance is a true story and her case was featured in episode nine of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix, which created extra buzz around her disappearance. The episode is called Abducted by a Parent and the synopsis read: “When a child is kidnapped by their own parents, what recourse does the family have? These two cases explore the unique pain of parental abduction.”

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In April 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an age-progression picture to show what Kayla could look like at 15 years old, and was spotted by a shop owner – who called the police after recognising Kayla after watching the Netflix series.

via Netflix

Kayla’s father, Ryan, has issued a statement about his daughter’s return. “I’m overjoyed that Kayla is home,” he began.

“I wanted to thank [the City of Elgin, Illinois Police and Fire Departments], the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and all of the law enforcement agencies who assisted with her case.

“We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigating this new beginning.”

Unsolved Mysteries is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

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Featured image credit via Netflix.