Unsolved Mysteries Viewer Helps Crack Case After Spotting Missing Child

Thanks to the new Unsolved Mysteries, the case of a missing child has been solved, and the best news is she’s safe and sound. In the third season of the revival series, there’s an episode called “Abducted by a Parent” that touched on the disappearance of Kayla Unbehaun, a 9-year-old girl who was abducted by her noncustodial mother, Heather Unbehaun, in 2017. Her father, Ryan Iserka, had been searching for her ever since, leading to the story’s inclusion in the Unsolved Mysteries episode. It premiered on Netflix in November 2022.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has now announced that Kayla has been found. Now 15 years old, Kayla was found after Heather had taken her shopping at a Plato’s Closet in Asheville, North Carolina. Per People, the store owner recognized the girl from the Unsolved Mysteries episode and immediately called police. Authorities arrived and arrested the mother, who was reportedly released on bond and currently facing child abduction charges. Meanwhile, her father has expressed his joy over being reunited with Kayla.

“I’m overjoyed that Kayla is home safe,” Iserka said in a statement shared by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “I want to thank [the Elgin Police and Fire Departments], the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and all of the law enforcement agencies who assisted with her case. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.”

Related: Unsolved Mysteries Gets Even Better With Netflix’s Volume 3

Unsolved Mysteries Helps Solve a Case

Kayla Unbehaun was last seen by her father after a Fourth of July parade in 2017. Heather had taken Kayla on a camping trip but didn’t return the next day when it was time for her to return home. Iserka had publicly pleaded for Kayla’s safe return over the past six years leading up to the Unsolved Mysteries episode that would result in her being found. In 2020, he wrote a birthday letter that was released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children along with an age-progression photo of what she might look like at 12 years old.

“When I found out you were gone my heart was shattered into a million pieces,” Iserka wrote in the birthday letter. “I realize you are growing and changing and you probably look different like in the age progression photograph, which is hard for my mind to accept. You are probably too old to play the games we used to play but I promise we will find new and fun things to do together. I miss you sweetie and I will never give up on you.”

According to the Unsolved Mysteries website, the show has helped solve half of the cases it has featured since its inception. That includes reuniting more than 100 families with lost loved ones and cracking many other cases, involving missing persons, wanted fugitives, and unsolved murders. They tout more than 260 cases solved as a direct result of the show.

You can stream the three seasons of the Unsolved Mysteries revival on Netflix.