Father, Grandmother Arrested for Kidnapping – Charlotte County Girl Found Safe

By Crystal Vandegrift, Staff Writer

Dylan Richardson

Annabelle Dorthea Hope Richardson

CHARLOTTE COURT HOUSE – A Charlotte County man and his mother have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping his daughter and taking her to New Jersey.

The child was unharmed.

On Monday afternoon the Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert for four-year-old Annabelle Doretha Hope Richardson who was last seen with her father, 24-year-old Dylan Richardson at 400 Thomas Jefferson Highway in Charlotte County on November 9.

According to the Virginia State Police the Amber Alert wasn’t issued until the child had been missing for five days because the case did not meet the Virginia State Police criteria. There was also a protective order against Richardson until the child turned 18.

Jacqueline McKenna, Richardson’s mother has also been arrested and charged with abduction. Investigators say McKenna drove the two to New Jersey.

A relative saw the Amber alert and convinced Richardson to turn himself in to the Monroe Township Police Department in Gloucester County, New Jersey on Tuesday morning where he was taken into custody. McKenna was arrested later that day.

Annabelle was expected to be returned to Stephanie Clary, the child’s maternal grandmother and legal guardian on Wednesday.