Mississippi Woman Charged With Kidnapping New Iberia Girl

47-year-old Jessica Hebert of Picayune, Mississippi, is accused of kidnapping a 4-year-old girl after the child was left with her by the mother.

Captain Ryan Turner with the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office says the mother told them Hebert was in New Iberia visiting friends and allowed her daughter to spend Thursday night with Hebert. She was supposed to pick up the girl the next day.

But during that time, the mother was arrested on a warrant issued by the Delcambre Police Department and spent some time in jail. When she was released on Friday, she says when she called Hebert for her daughter, Hebert had already went back to Picayune with the girl.

The mother later called the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office, who got in touch with Hebert, but she still refused to bring the 4-year-old back to the mother.

Detectives then got an arrest warrant ready for Hebert and, with the help of the Pearl River County Sheriff's Office, were able to arrest Hebert on a charge of simple kidnapping. She's awaiting extradition back to Iberia Parish.

After the girl was found, she was placed into the custody of the Mississippi Department of Children and Family Services then returned to her mother in New Iberia on Sunday.