Patricia Kane ’86was arrested by Hanover Police Monday night in Lyme after authorities issued an Amber Alert, alleging that she had abducted her 12-year-old biological son from his foster family in Sunderland, Vt. Kane, 49, of Manchester, Vt., is being held in Grafton County Jail while she awaits extradition to Vermont, where she faces two felony charges, said Vermont State Police public information officer Stephanie Dasaro.
At a brief arraignment in Lebanon District Courton Tuesdayafternoon, Kane waived her right to challenge extradition to Vermont, acting Hanover Police chief Frank Moran said. She is being held on $200,000 bail, according to a Vermont State Police press release.
Moran said Kane is being held in Grafton County Jail on a fugitive from justice charge. Extradition will occur within the next few days, he said.
Kane faces charges of second-degree unlawful restraint and custodial interference, each carrying a maximum prison sentence of five years. The Bennington County attorney may choose to pursue additional charges, Dasaro said.
Zachary Lee, Kane’s son, was reported missing from his foster home on North Road at4:46 p.m. on Monday, and an Amber Alert was activated at 8:35 p.m.that night.
Law enforcement officials may activate Amber Alerts in the case of a serious, time-critical child abduction, and are disseminated using radio, television, highway signs, mobile phones and the Internet.
Authorities believe Kane abducted Zachary Lee on his way home from school, after he had been dropped off by the bus, according to a Vermont Police Department press release.
At about10:30 p.m., police received a tip in response to the Amber Alert, Moran said.
The tip came from a customer at the Canoe Club Restaurant in Hanover who had seen the alert, said bartender Ian Gillespie.
Gillespie, who was working at the Canoe Club on Monday evening, said Kane entered the restaurant with Zachary Lee and another child. The third person was Kane’s 17-year-old daughter, Martha Lee, who lives with Kane in Manchester, Vt.
Gillespie said Kane wore large sunglasses and acted erratically throughout dinner. Zachary Lee did not appear to be distressed, he said. Kane requested assistance obtaining a taxi and booking a room at the Lyme Inn from Anna Guenther, a Canoe Club manager, Gillespie said.
When Hanover Police arrived at the Canoe Club, Guenther informed the police of Kane’s behavior.
Hanover Police notified the Lyme Police and continued to pursue the case. Kane was arrested at the Lyme Inn just before midnight, Moran said.
At the time of the arrest, Kane was with both Zachary Lee and Martha Lee. Both children have been taken into the protective custody of Vermont social workers, Moran said.
Zachary Lee was recently repatriated from France, where he and his sister had been raised. The move to the U.S. sparked fears that Kane would try to unlawfully remove him from his foster family as she had attempted to do overseas, Vermont State Police said in a statementMonday.
Zachary Lee had been living with a French foster family for a little over a year. Kane and Martha Lee worked with the Department of Children and Families to have him transferred to a Vermont foster home on Jan. 14 as a step toward regaining custody. According to the Valley News, authorities, including the state Department for Children and Families, considered Kane to be “highly unstable and volatile.”
Moran said that while Hanover Police occasionally sees custody cases involving divorced couples, the abduction was unusual and has required the department to deploy many of its resources.
Local, county, state and federal agencies collaborated to carry out the investigation, a Vermont Police press release said.
Christina Rainville, chief deputy state’s attorney for Bennington County, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Vermont Department for Children and Families declined to comment.
