A girl who disappeared from Illinois at the age of nine was found safe six years later after someone recognized her from Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries.
Kayla Unbehaun vanished in July 2017 while visiting her mother, Heather Unbehaun, who did not have legal custody of her. Kayla’s father arrived to pick her up after the visit but discovered that both she and her mother were gone.
Authorities searched for Kayla for years, while her case was featured by missing-child organizations and later appeared in a segment connected to Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries.
The case took a dramatic turn in May 2023 when a person in Asheville, North Carolina, recognized Kayla’s mother inside a local store. Police were contacted, and officers located Kayla, who was then 15 years old.
Heather Unbehaun was arrested in connection with the alleged abduction. Kayla was placed in protective care before being reunited with her father, who expressed gratitude to everyone who helped bring his daughter home.
Authorities praised the person who recognized the pair and reported the sighting, saying the case demonstrated how public awareness can help solve disappearances even many years later.
The photograph circulating online shows Kayla when she was younger. Although some posts present the development as recent, she was found safe in May 2023, approximately six years after she disappeared.
