A woman who brought a child to Florida without the child’s father’s permission has been arrested at a home in The Villages.
Courtney Marie Shires, 23, has been charged in Maryland with abducting a child under the age of 12.
On Thursday, Maryland State Police received a report of a child abduction. The complainant advised that Shires had burglarized a residence in Chaptico and took a four-year-old female victim from the address, according to BayNet News in Maryland.
Shires contacted the child’s father and advised that she would return the child on July 18. She failed to do so. On Wednesday, a custody hearing was held, granting sole custody of the four-year-old child to the father.
Shires failed to appear for the custody hearing, and contacted the father to advise that she was not bringing the child back. An arrest warrant was issued on Thursday.
Further investigation revealed that Ms. Shires had taken the child to Florida. Maryland State Police contacted the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office to respond to an address in The Villages. Shires and the child were located in a residence, and Shires was placed under arrest. The father is making arrangements to retrieve the child and bring her transport her back to Maryland.
Shires is being held in Sumter County pending extradition to Maryland.
