August 2007 News Article

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Florida woman faces charges in abduction of daughter

By John Nickerson
Staff Writer

Published August 16 2007


NORWALK - An FBI informant yesterday led police to a woman wanted in Florida for allegedly abducting her 2-year-old daughter last year.

The woman, Johanna Vongeldern, 42, formerly of Marianna, Fla., was charged with being a fugitive from justice and is being held on $250,000 bond. She will be arraigned in state Superior Court in Norwalk today.


Vongeldern's daughter, Sophia, was unharmed and turned over to the state Department of Children and Families, Sgt. Ronald Pine said.

Police found the woman after someone called the FBI to report that Vongeldern was near the old Fitch School on Strawberry Hill Avenue, Pine said.

After the FBI alerted Norwalk police, detectives asked taxi companies to report fares in that area, Sgt. David O'Connor said. At about 1:30 p.m., four detectives and six patrol units went to the area to look for the woman and her toddler, O'Connor said.

At about 1:50 p.m., a taxi company told police that a woman had asked for a cab on Lyncrest Drive, about a block from Strawberry Hill Avenue.

Five minutes later, police found Vongeldern on the lawn at 3 Lyncrest Drive with her daughter, O'Connor said.

Vongeldern confirmed her identity and that she is in a custody battle with Sophia's father, Pine said.

Vongeldern is wanted by Jackson County Sheriffs in Florida on a charge of concealing a child contrary to court order, Pine said.

Pine and O'Connor said they did not know how long Vongeldern had been in the area or her ties to Norwalk.

"She has been on the run until now, when she was spotted in Norwalk by a concerned citizen," Pine said.

O'Connor said there appears to be no connection between Vongeldern and Lyncrest Drive. Police did not reveal how the informant knew Vongeldern was in that area.

The abduction is listed on a number of Web sites, including that of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which states that the child was abducted March 1, 2006, and that a warrant was issued for Vongeldern's arrest on Sept. 25.

It was thought they may have traveled to Arizona, according to the Web site.

The child will remain in DCF custody until her father or his agent picks her up, Pina said.

Extradition proceedings against Vongeldern will begin tomorrow, Pine said.