Mom forcefully takes 7-year-old from library during supervised visit, Missouri cops say
.jpg "Piper Johnson, 7, and her non-custodial mother, Valarie Baker. Police say Baker forcefully took her daughter from the St. Charles City-County Library Boone’s Trail branch during a supervised visit.")
Update: The 7-year-old girl taken from a St. Charles County library has been found safe, police said on March 9, and her mother was arrested without incident. The original story is below.
A 7-year-old girl was with her mother, a non-custodial parent, during a supervised visit at a Missouri library when she was forcibly taken away, police say.
Witnesses say they saw the mom use “physical force” to take the young child from the Wentzville library branch before escaping about 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 7, according to a report from the St. Charles County Police Department.
Mother Valarie Baker and her daughter, Piper Johnson, are still missing as of 9:10 a.m. Tuesday, March 8, police shared in a morning update.
Police are continuing to search for them and ask anyone who knows where Piper or Baker might be to call 911 or 636-949-3000 immediately.
Baker was last seen fleeing from the St. Charles City-County Library Boone’s Trail branch in a navy blue 2018 Toyota Corolla with a missing side fender on the front, driver’s side. Police say she drove northbound on Highway Z.
Piper was seen “wearing pink pants with swirls, a white shirt with a unicorn design, and light up sneakers” when she was taken, police said.
Wentzville is about 45 miles northwest of St. Louis.
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 11:50 AM.