Frantic parents called Gerald police around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31, to report their child had been abducted by a non-custodial family member Wendy R. Pyatt, 44. 

The parents said Hyatt took the three-year-old child from their home in Hillside Trailer Park to her home, also in Hillside. 

When the parents went to Hyatt’s home to attempt to retrieve the child, they were denied entry. According to Police Chief Jim Helton, Hyatt stated she was “afraid the child would be kidnapped by another family member.” Helton says there was no evidence that would happen. 

Helton and another GPD officer arrived at the home and were assisted by two Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputies. 

They could hear Pyatt barricading the door, running from one end of the trailer to another, flipping lights off and on repeatedly and screaming. This erratic behavior added to his fear for the child’s safety, Helton says.

The child was visible through a window and spoke to the officers.  She was visibly upset according to Helton.

Due to past dealings with Pyatt, Helton deemed it an unsafe situation. When Pyatt refused to come out or surrender the child, a decision was made to enter the home with force. 

Officers forced entry through the front door of the residence. They retrieved the child who was physically unharmed. She was returned to her waiting parents

Pyatt was arrested and charged with two felonies, kidnapping in the second degree and resisting arrest for a felony. She was taken to the Franklin County Adult Detention Center, where she remained at press time, on a $15,000 cash only bond. 

Pyatt is scheduled to go before Judge David L. Hoven for a confined docket hearing Nov. 15.