Kayla Unbehaun kidnapped from Illinois six years ago recognised from Netflix documentary Unsolved Mysteries

Kayla Unbehaun before her abduction, left, at the age of 9 and in an age-progression picture by forensic artists depicting her at 14.

A girl kidnapped six years ago has been found after a shop owner recognised her from a Netflix true crime documentary series and phoned the police.

Kayla Unbehaun, then aged 9, was abducted by her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun from South Elgin, Illinois, in 2017, and was finally recognised in a shopping centre in Asheville, North Carolina, last weekend.

Kayla’s father, Ryan Iskerka, went to Unbehaun’s home on July 5, 2017, to pick up Kayla, but she had disappeared.

Unbehaun only had visitation rights for her daughter at the time of the abduction. She has been charged with child abduction by the Kane County State’s Attorney in Illinois and is awaiting extradition from North Carolina, held on a bond of US$250,000 ($400,000)

The Abducted by a Parent episode of Unsolved Mysteries was released in November last year as part of the third series of the show, and Kayla appeared as part of a reel of missing children at the end of the programme. Photographs of the abducted children were placed alongside a photograph of the parent suspected of kidnapping them.

‘Overjoyed Kayla is home safe’

Iskerka said: “I’m overjoyed that Kayla is home safe. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.”

He also thanked all the agencies which had helped get his daughter home, including the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, which had issued several alerts about Kayla and had released age-progression photographs of her over the years.

Iskerka had reportedly written a tribute to Kayla on her 15th birthday in January, on a Facebook page called Bring Kayla Home, Fox News reported.

“I can’t wait for the day that I get to see you again, hoping each day I wake up will be the day. It could never come soon enough. I think of you every day hoping and praying that you are safe, happy and that you will come back into my life soon.”

Kayla is now in protective custody.

Lieutenant Diana Loveland of Asheville Police Department told ABC: “It is unusual but it’s good that when someone does suspect that they recognise someone, no matter how old the story might be, that they are not afraid to give us a call so we can come and investigate.”