North Kitsap resident Rebecca Khirstean Forrester, 32, was discovered in Cheyenne, Wyoming at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, 8:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time Saturday. An Amber Alert was issued Thursday night when it was discovered she had disappeared with her 2-month-old daughter, Serenity Withrow, said Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Scott Wilson.
They were found in a grocery store parking lot store with an unidentified woman who was questioned and released and a blue 1991 Dodge Dakota. It was later discovered that the white 2001 Dodge Dakota Forrester was believed to have been driving as a getaway car had been left at the intersection of Pioneer Way and Waghorn Road near Lofall between 1 a.m. and 12:40 p.m. Sunday, when it was found, Wilson said. KCSO deputies and detectives are investigating why the truck was dumped there after Forrester was caught.
Forrester fled the area with the infant after she failed a drug test that would have effectively taken the infant out of her care again. She had lost custody of the baby once before due to drug use. She has four other children, and has lost custody of three of them for physical abuse and drug usage.
The infant was taken to a local hospital for a complete examination and the status of her health is unknown. She will be turned over to Wyoming Child Protective Services, which will in turn work with Washington Child Protective Services to transport the infant back to Kitsap County.
Forrester is being held in the Laramie County Jail and is facing extradition back to Kitsap County, a second degree kidnapping warrant issued by a Kitsap County court and bail set at $100,000 in the Kitsap County Jail, Wilson said. She will return willingly to Washington after deciding to waive extradition proceedings in Wyoming. On Tuesday a KCSO detective and FBI agent flew to Wyoming to escort Forrester back to Kitsap, where she will face her first court date today since fleeing with her infant.
The baby was turned over to Washington state CPS on Tuesday and also flown back to the area, Wilson said. She will temporarily stay with CPS until there is a hearing to decide her custody status.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington State Patrol, Washington State Department of Transportation, Kitsap County Emergency Center and the Cheyenne Police Department all assisted in locating and arresting Forrester and making sure the infant was safe, Wilson said.
