Welcome to Arrest Stories. A twenty-seven-year-old Milwaukee woman faces abduction charges after allegedly stealing a running daycare van with four young children inside. Here's what may have happened.
On December sixteenth around four p.m., a daycare worker was loading four children into a white Chrysler Town and Country van near sixtieth and Burleigh streets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The worker had placed the children inside the running vehicle and turned away briefly to throw down salt when twenty-seven-year-old Katelyn Librizzi allegedly jumped into the van and drove off with the children still inside.
The daycare worker's personal cellphone had been left inside the van during the incident. After watching Librizzi drive away with the vehicle and children, the daycare worker ran back into the facility to dial nine-one-one from the daycare phone.
Police were able to track the stolen van using location data from the daycare owner's cellphone that remained inside the vehicle. Officers conducted what they described as a high-risk stop to rescue the four young children who had been taken.
According to police reports, Librizzi stopped the van at her home on West Philip Place for approximately ten minutes during the incident. When officers located and recovered the vehicle, they discovered medical documents belonging to Librizzi inside the van.
During police interviews, investigators noted that Librizzi indicated she had mental health issues and had stopped taking her medication. Officers reported that she was making statements and comments that are not typically mentioned in interviews.
The incident occurred five days after December eleventh, when Librizzi's personal vehicle had been disabled and required towing. She now faces charges of abduction and operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. Bond has been set at ten thousand dollars.
The four children involved in the incident were safely recovered and returned to the daycare facility.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.