Forwarded by Scott, Jennifer, and others...

Comments:  This is not a hoax, but it is old news. Within two days after her disappearance, Krystava Schmidt was found and returned to her mother safe and sound.

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, 20-month-old Krystava Schmidt (middle name spelled "Patience" in the news article) was taken from her home "for a drive" on July 10, 1998 (not 1997) by 18-year-old Rebecca Lynn DeArmond, a renter in the same home. Police were alerted when the two did not return. Krystava's mother also penned and circulated an email alert which, over time, has been altered and forwarded to every corner of the earth.

Two days after the kidnapping, DeArmond and the child were located in a nearby city and DeArmond was arrested. She admitted to taking the child "to make her uncle worry" and was charged with felony counts of False Imprisonment and Depriving Another of Parental Rights.

The alert is now junk mail, but Mounds View police are still fielding phone calls from concerned recipients. If you receive the message, don't forward it. The only good deed called for now is to help stop this erroneous and wasteful alert from circulating for all eternity.

More Information:

• Update: Year-Old Email Plea Ties Up Police Phone Lines
  Aug. 1999 - Police continue to field inquiries about the case