Mother Arrested After Staging Kidnapping To Prevent Her From Engaging With Luke Bryan Imposter (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA) Photo Credit: (Crawford County Sheriff’s Office)
Officials Arrest Woman Connected With Staging A Kidnapping
An Arkansas mother has taken extreme measures to prevent her daughter from being scammed by an imposter pretending to be country music star Luke Bryan.
Authorities have taken four people into custody, among them a former Crawford County official, for their alleged involvement in a planned kidnapping scheme.
59-year-old Tamara “Tammi” Hamby, who previously served on the Crawford County Library Board, reportedly turned herself in to law enforcement on December 3. Investigators say she orchestrated the involvement of three accomplices to kidnap her disabled daughter, claiming the intent was to discipline her.
“For the past six months, my special needs daughter has been affected by an online predator who has developed a trauma bond with her and now has her complete control,” her father, Dr. Jeffrey Hamby, told 40/29 News. “She believes it’s Luke Bryan, and we cannot talk her out of it.”
He stated that his daughter functions “at roughly an 11-year-old level” and claimed she had been “manipulated by an online individual” who was falsely presenting himself as Bryan.
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Crawford County Sheriff’s Office Details The Incident
Officials have also detained David Qbao, Nico Austria, and Shannon Yazmin Yvonne Childers in relation to the case.
The arrest warrant for Hamby indicates that on November 17, a deputy with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report suggesting that Hamby’s 22-year-old daughter, who court documents describe as having both intellectual and physical disabilities, may have been abducted.
Investigators allege that Hamby conceived the idea of staging a kidnapping in order to worry her daughter, who had been engaging in online conversations with unfamiliar individuals, including someone who reportedly presented himself as Bryan.
The warrant further stated that Childers, the in-home nursing aide assigned to assist with the daughter’s daily care, was approached by Hamby to participate in carrying out the fabricated abduction.
According to records, the scheme involved arranging one of the individuals to impersonate someone associated with Bryan and communicate with Hamby’s daughter in order to set up a meeting.
The documents state that the impersonator was then supposed to pick up the young woman, take her to a field near the residence, demand money from her, and tie her to a tree, after which Hamby would arrive and stage a dramatic “rescue.”
Investigators report that Childers recruited Quach and Austria to carry out the plan. The two allegedly went to the Hamby home wearing ski masks and removed the daughter from the house.
The warrant notes that Austria mistakenly drove to the wrong field, where the daughter was restrained with zip ties and fastened to a tree.
The daughter eventually freed herself and attempted to escape, but, according to the warrant, Austria and Quach caught her, threatened her, and tied her back to the tree. Investigators further allege that Hamby was present and observing throughout the incident.
“[Hamby’s daughter] was in fear for her life and clung tightly to a teddy bear the entirety of me speaking with her during her interview,” the sheriff deputy said.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) has allegedly filed an emergency petition for custody of Hamby’s daughter.
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