A 12-year-old girl who was abducted from a hospital room by her armed grandmother has been found unharmed.
Evelyn Miller, 66, was arrested by the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office at a hotel in Bogalusa, Louisiana, and her granddaughter, Adreana Miller, 12, was found with her after Evelyn Miller allegedly took Adreana from Ochsner Hospital at approximately 5 p.m. on Valentine’s Day.
Authorities say that Evelyn Miller entered Adreana’s hospital room in an attempt to remove her from the hospital but when hospital staff intervened and tried to stop her she allegedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at them.
“In making her escape from the location, she pushed one nurse to the ground and struck a security guard with her vehicle,” said the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in a press release on social media. “No one was physically injured.”
Police obtained a warrant for the arrest of Evelyn Miller after the incident for charges of simple kidnapping, five counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, two counts of simple battery, and violation of a firearm-free zone.
Miller fled with Adreana from Ochsner Hospital in a 2019 Toyota Sienna which was recovered a short time later.
Miller and her granddaughter were located approximately 24 hours later at a hotel in Bogalusa, Louisiana, about 70 miles north of the New Orleans hospital she was taken from.
“We extend our appreciation to our partners in law enforcement who assisted with this investigation, including the Louisiana State Police and the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office, and to our local media and members of the public who shared the information about the incident and helped us bring it to a swift closure,” said Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
While the girl was the subject of a statewide “child endangerment alert,” authorities said, it is currently unclear what Miller’s motivations were in taking her granddaughter.
