Cape Coral woman arrested accused of taking her son without custody then fleeing to Washington

Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:
kidnapping
Credit: The Cape Coral Police Department

The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a woman who they say took her son, while not having custody, and then fled to Washington.

Police arrested Joie Leigh Watson, 40, after the father filed a report of a missing 14-year-old whom he lives with.

According to police, the teenager was in the custody of the father for around seven years.

It was believed by the father that Watson knowingly removed the teen from the father’s custody without his knowledge or consent.

The CCPD discovered that Watson fled with the teenager outside the state.

An arrest warrant was issued by the CCPD, along with the Fort Myers division of the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Investigators were able to locate Watson in Washington, where she was apprehended and returned to Florida, where she was arrested.

The teenager was unharmed, according to police.

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