Mum abducts eight of her kids, transports them over 2,000 miles across country

23 October 2023 , 13:51

1107     0

Police said Trista Fullerton drove about 2,000 miles with her abducted children (Image: Anderson Police Dept/Facebook)

A mother who lost custody of her eight children reportedly tried to steal them back from their respective guardians last weekend as she took them on an illegal road trip through the country.

Police said that Trista Fullerton, 36, kidnapped her own children from their foster placements and drove through multiple state lines, which landed them in northern California where a concerned women called authorities because of Fullerton's "bizarre behavior." Anderson Police Department authorities arrived to a parking lot about 30 minutes from Sacramento at about 12.30 am last Saturday to find Fullerton and six of her children in a filthy Dodge pick-up truck riddled with garbage.

Upon making contact with the mother and conducting a background check that revealed her active felony warrants pertaining to the children's abductions, the officers promptly arrested Fullerton. They determined that in total, the mother had driven approximately 2,000 miles with her kids.

READ MORE:

The Dodge pick-up truck was riddled with trash as Fullerton drove (Anderson Police Dept/Facebook)

When interviewed about the location of her two remaining children, Fullerton admitted that they were at a residence in the Cottonwood area in Arkansas, which she said housed several of her friends.

Teen 'kept as slave, starved and beaten' sues adoptive parents and authorities

With assistance from the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, the two kids were taken to Children and Family Services in the county where they awaited their respective foster parents. As for the abductor, she was taken to the Shasta County Jail where she was booked on her felony warrant. The estranged mother had a prior criminal history that included charges related to domestic battery.

Fullerton was arrested after a passerby called police upon observing Fullerton's "bizarre behavior" (Anderson Police Dept/Facebook)

In recent news, two girls taken from a Burger King restaurant in Georgia were found safe while their mother, Kaila Spires, faces two counts of kidnapping charges. Last week, authorities for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children issued an AMBER Alert for Kylie Horn, 11, and Kylann Harper, 4.

The two were last seen around 11.50 am at the Burger King located in Columbus. A second suspect that was named in the case, Mikaela Harrell. The AMBER Alert that was issued for the two young children read: "Kylie and Kylann are believed to be in extreme danger," while it was assumed that they were traveling with Harrell.

Authorities explained in a news release that "detectives quickly initiated their investigation and gathered information, including a detailed vehicle description" after mobilizing on a call informing them of the abduction on October 15 at around 12.45 a.m. Spires had at least one prior criminal conviction in regards to burglary that included breaking and entering into a residential home, according to authorities.

Harrell's criminal history involved a possession charge she was hit with when authorities found her with methamphetamine. She was on parole between August 2007 and August 2016.

Mataeo Smith