News - McHenry County

Teen, baby reportedly ‘abducted’ from Harvard found in Kentucky

Indiana man charged with abduction and luring awaiting extradition to McHenry County

A 22-year-old Indiana man accused of abducting a teenage girl and her infant Wednesday from Harvard is being held in a Kentucky jail awaiting extradition to McHenry County, Harvard police said.

Michael A. Walton, 22, of the 800 block of Roosevelt Street, Linton, Indiana, is charged with one count of child abduction for allegedly luring a child younger than 17, according to the criminal complaint filed in the McHenry County courthouse. The charge is a Class 4 felony.

Michael A. Walton

Walton is being held at the Bourbon County Detention Center in Paris, Kentucky, on a $20,000 bond, according to the jail’s website.

The teenager and her infant were last seen Wednesday afternoon near Harvard Diggins Library, where police said Walton picked them up.

Harvard police took a report of the missing children at a home in the 200 block of Roosevelt Street. The girl was staying with family in Harvard at the time of the alleged abduction, Harvard Police Chief Tyson Bauman said.

The girl and her child “were willingly picked up,” according to the Harvard Police Department Facebook page.

An intensive investigation was initiated with the assistance of local police departments, agencies from the state of Indiana and federal law enforcement, Harvard police said.

The children and Walton turned themselves in to the police department in Cynthiana, Kentucky, unharmed about 12:30 p.m. Friday, Bauman said.

Amanda Marrazzo

Amanda Marrazzo is a staff reporter for Shaw Media who has written stories on just about every topic in the Northwest Suburbs including McHenry County for nearly 20 years.