Published: June 03, 2008 12:00 am         

Charges filed in alleged abduction

James Netemyer out on bail after being arrested for criminal confinement

TERRE HAUTE — A Vigo County man whose actions resulted in an Amber Alert on Sunday afternoon was out of jail on bail Monday evening.

James Netemyer, 21, was arrested on an allegation of criminal confinement in connection with the abduction of his 14-month-old daughter.

Police initially were called to a home in Seelyville around 11 a.m. Sunday after the child’s mother, Diana Rodgers, reported that Netemyer, who is the non-custodial father, had taken the child between 6 and 9 a.m.

According to a Vigo County Sheriff’s Department news release, Netemyer was in contact with Rodgers by cell phone Sunday, and he told her she would never see her child again.

The threat, along with the fact that a .22-caliber pistol was missing from the home, warranted the Amber Alert, according to Jake Compton, chief deputy of the Sheriff’s Department. The alert was first announced around 4:40 p.m. Sunday.

Authorities made contact with Netemyer on Sunday evening, and he drove back to Terre Haute from Albers, Ill., returning around 9 p.m. The little girl was discovered to be safe in the vehicle.

Netemyer had been traveling to the home of relatives in Illinois, according to police. Netemyer and Rodgers both stated they had been fighting in recent weeks, including “some type of altercation” Saturday, police said.

Family members met with Child Protective Services late Sunday after Netemyer came back with the child. The girl then was returned to her mother. Netemyer was booked into the county jail with bail set at $10,000 with 10 percent allowed, and he posted bail Monday afternoon. He has no criminal record, police said.

Compton said during an interview Monday that police made every effort to issue the Amber Alert “very, very quickly,” adding that the Sheriff’s Department had to conduct many interviews with family members, contact State Police, the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the FBI, among others before all the paperwork to issue the alert was complete.

“It is fortunate and happy it all turned out this way,” Compton said. “If we could lessen the response by an hour, it would be even better.”

Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.kelly@tribstar.com.