A missing 6-year-old child from Iowa was found Wednesday on a Maine island.
Avery Doherty was taken out of state by her mother, 41-year-old Esther Bender of Ames, in violation of a court order in mid-October, according to Sgt. Amber Christian of the Ames Police Department in Iowa.
Bender did not have legal custody of Doherty and was in the middle of a lengthy legal fight over visitation rights with the child’s father, Brandon Doherty, ABC affiliate KCCI reported earlier this year.
Police found Bender and Doherty on Peaks Island off the coast of Portland on Wednesday. Bender was arrested, and she has been charged with violation of a custodial order, Christian said in a Thursday statement shared by the Portland Police Department, which assisted in the case.
No additional information was immediately available.