Kids abducted in Iowa found in Etna; 2 arrested

A nationwide search for two children abducted Monday in Iowa by their mother and her boyfriend ended successfully when Maine State Police stopped their vehicle on Interstate 95 in Etna on Tuesday evening and found them unharmed.

The mother of the children, Brandi R. Harris, 30, and her boyfriend, Vincent S. Hatch, 36, allegedly kidnapped the children from a park in Oakland, Iowa, while they were under the care of a baby sitter.

Harris and Hatch are accused of violating a custodial order, a Class D felony.

Officials believe the couple were heading to their home on Center Drive in Orrington.

The children were in good health and were put into protective custody until they could be returned to their father in Oakland in southwest Iowa, officials said.

The parents are divorced and the children have been living with their father – who has sole custody – and their grandmother in Oakland since late June.

An Amber Alert was issued before midnight Monday in Iowa for Rae Ann Meyer, 8, and Cameron A. Meyer, 10, after the youngsters were “deviously snatched” by the Maine couple, Lt. Tim Thompson of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

“She took them from a 16-year-old baby sitter when the father went to work,” Thompson said. “She [the mother] followed the baby sitter to a city park and took the kids.”

The officer added, “It became an Amber Alert because there have been allegations that [the boyfriend] mistreated the kids,” Thompson said.

Sgt. Sean Hashey of the Maine State Police said he and Trooper Darren Vittum spotted the suspects’ black 2004 Toyota RAV4 headed north on I-95 shortly before 6 p.m.

Six state troopers and a Penobscot County sheriff’s deputy assisted in closing the northbound lane of the highway for about 10 minutes while Hashey and Vittum stopped the vehicle and arrested Harris and Hatch at about mile marker 165. Harris was driving.

Harris and Hatch were taken to Penobscot County Jail where they were being held Tuesday night on multiple bail conditions, the largest of which was $50,000 cash apiece.

According to court documents, the children’s father, Jeffery Meyer, and Harris were divorced on March 3, 2003, in 3rd District Court in Bangor. Meyer was listed with a Hartland address at the time, while Harris had a Bangor address.

The court documents state that during a hearing in Bangor on March 7 of this year, Meyer, who already had custody of his daughter, was given sole custody of his son for “unrefuted testimony” of squalid living conditions, heavy alcohol use by both Harris and Hatch, rough treatment of the boy by Hatch, and because of Harris’ continued relationship with Hatch.

Hatch apparently spanked Cameron Meyer, locked him in his room and “choked” him, according to earlier documents in the divorce file, which led to a petition of protection that barred Hatch from contact with the child. That protection order later was amended to allow contact as long as Harris was present.

Court documents filed by Harris’ attorney on July 17 ask for custody of the children, based on her allegations that Meyer moved out of state without giving her 30 days’ notice, but it was denied based on the March hearing results.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.