Mother accused of abducting daughter in 2017 returns to Illinois to face charges

Heather Unbehaun, the woman accused of abducting her child six years ago, has returned to Illinois.

She turned herself in at the Kane County jail Wednesday afternoon and appeared in bond call Thursday morning.

Kane County Judge Julia Yetter left her bail at $10,000, meaning she must post $1,000 to be released pretrial.

Yetter also ordered that Unbehaun wear a GPS monitor. Among the conditions of bail, Unbehaun is prohibited from being within 1,000 feet of the father's residence, cannot leave Illinois without the court's permission, and cannot have any contact with anyone listed on an order of protection the father obtained on Wednesday.

Unbehaun is accused of taking her daughter, then 9, in July 2017, in violation of court orders in a custody dispute between her and the girl's father. The girl lived in South Elgin with her father, Ryan Iskerka, who had custody, and Unbehaun lived in Wheaton.

Kayla was visiting her mother and attended Wheaton's Fourth of July parade. Ryan Iskerka was scheduled to pick Kayla up in Wheaton the next day. When the mother and daughter did not return, Iskerka reported her missing.

Kane County prosecutors then charged Heather Unbehaun with one felony count of child abduction.

South Elgin police worked with numerous law enforcement agencies and traveled to various locations across the United States to attempt to find the girl. A person recognized Unbehaun and the daughter Saturday night in a store in Asheville, North Carolina, and called the police.

Unbehaun was arrested that night and was released from a North Carolina jail after posting $25,000 bail Monday.

Her next Kane County court date is June 14.