It was a long night and day for a mother and her daughter, who was missing. The pair had moved from Arizona to Maryland, then to Texas, allegedly in an attempt to get away from the child's father. By Tuesday afternoon, the Amber Alert had been canceled, and the father was in custody.
"She is in Montgomery County and she's good," Samantha Scheideler, the child's mother said.
Scheideler was in court Monday seeking a protective order against the man she says took her child. Then the hearing was interrupted by the news her daughter was safe.
"I'm very thankful 'cause all I wanted was for her to be home with me, back and safe," Scheideler said.
Her daughter is 20-month-old Savannah Skye Scheideler, and since she was a month old, her mother fought to keep her from the man believed to be her father, 31-year-old Gregory Daniels. In one custody petition to the court, it was claimed that Daniels had a history of family violence.
Then on Sunday evening at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Humble, during a supervised visitation between Daniels and the child, police say he took Savannah and left as her stunned mother looked on.
"At the conclusion of the two hours of the supervised visit, that was supposed to be the end of the visit and the rest to be handled through the courts," Scheideler's attorney, Bianca Santorini, said.
When the case made it to the DA's office on Monday, prosecutors recognized Daniels' name from earlier this year.
"He wanted to get the child," prosecutor Beth Baron said.
Police say he did -- for less than 24 hours before finally turning her in to Montgomery County authorities, we're told.
Soon after, a tearful Scheideler was reunited with her daughter.
"I'm going to be happier, I'm just ready to go home," Scheideler said.
The concern for Savannah was that she had an respiratory infection and had yet to start her medication, but that will all soon be corrected.
Santorini says she is pursuing sole custody of Savannah for Scheideler.
Daniels now faces a kidnapping charge and is being held at the Montgomery County Jail.
