Bodycam footage shows MSHP trooper who located two kidnapped children on I-70
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Lafayette County, MO - Missouri State Highway Patrol said troopers located the children, aged one and three, on Interstate 70 in Lafayette County about 15 minutes after issuing an Amber Alert.
Troopers located the suspect's vehicle using license plate reader technology and information provided by citizens.
The children's mother was first driving the vehicle and giving the suspect a ride to someone else's house, according to court documents. When the vehicle was stopped and the mother got out, the suspect allegedly stole the vehicle, according to court documents.
After initially fleeing from an MSHP trooper, the suspect pulled over as other officers from the patrol, Concordia Police Department and Higginsville Police Department worked together to prepare tire deflation devices.
The Columbia Police Department said officers responded to a call regarding the kidnapping near the 1600 block of North Providence Road.
Columbia Police arrested Joy Smith, 24, of Columbia, on two counts of second-degree kidnapping and tampering with a motor vehicle.
Additional charges were filed Friday in Lafayette County, where Smith was stopped and arrested. That case charges Smith with two counts of child kidnapping and resisting arrest.
Smith has a hearing set at Lafayette Hall on Jan. 15.
Smith also has a pending domestic assault charge, alleged to have occurred in November. She posted a $2,500 bond for that case on Dec. 11, according to online court records.