Florida woman taken into custody for abducting daughter over 40 years ago

Debra Newton was arrested in Florida in connection with a missing child case dating back to 1983. Body camera footage shows Newton being taken into custody while walking her dog. A friend who was with her joked, “Uh oh, they’re coming for you, Sharon!” referencing the alias Newton had been using. Moments later, deputies told her they were, in fact, there to arrest her.

“We’re here for you, ma’am. We’re definitely here for you,” one deputy told Newton, before explaining that she had an active arrest warrant tied to a missing child investigation.

The case centers on Michelle Newton, who was three years old when she and her mother left Louisville, Kentucky, in 1983. Authorities say Debra Newton told her then-husband that she and Michelle were leaving early to begin a new job in Georgia and prepare a new home for the family, according to a news release from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say the two instead fled, triggering a years-long search.

Authorities allege Debra Newton abducted Michelle, leading to her placement on the FBI’s Top 8 Most Wanted parental kidnapping list.

Michelle Newton was recently notified by police that her mother had kidnapped her as a child. She was unaware she had ever been listed in the national missing child database and did not know she had a father who had been searching for her.

“You’re not who you think you are. You’re a missing person. You’re Michelle Marie Newton,” Michelle said police told her, according to WLKY.

Investigators located Debra Newton earlier this year living in Florida under a different name. A Crime Stoppers tip identified her as a possible match, prompting a US Marshals Task Force detective to compare a recent photograph to images from 1983. A Jefferson County detective later confirmed the resemblance. Authorities collected DNA from Newton’s sister, which showed a 99.9 percent match.

“She’s always been in our heart,” Michelle’s father, Joseph, told WLKY. “I can’t explain that moment of walking in and getting to put my arms back around my daughter.”

“I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything. It was just like seeing her when she was first born. It was like an angel,” he added.