Woman arrested in Monrovia for abducting daughter 14 years ago [Updated]

A woman who is suspected of abducting her 8-year-old daughter 14 years ago from the child's home in Northern California has been arrested in Monrovia.

Jessica Click-Hill, who is now 22, was contacted and authorities said she was unharmed. They did not reveal where she is now living.

The mother, Wendy Hill, was arrested after being spotted at a local Claim Jumper restaurant in Monrovia, officials said.

An FBI investigation was launched after authorities received a tip from officials at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Police would not say whether Click-Hill was aware that she was a kidnapping victim.

-- Amina Khan

[For the record, 12:15 p.m.: An earlier version of this post stated that the daughter had been discovered in Monrovia.]

Photo: Jessica Click-Hill and her mother Wendy Hill (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) via KTLA News.

Comments

[Val]

Of course the girl was found safe. She was kidnapped by her mother. Great reporting LA Times.

[Leyla]

OMG!!! How can this girl birly be found after so many years??? This is very unacceptable.

[billn]

exactly why is the mother being vilified in this story?
did she sell her daughter into slavery? did she exploit her somehow?
or did she nurture her and provide her a safe haven?

[Hal]

I thought the sex offender registry suppose to deter this sort of thing?

So much for that

[PAUL OLIVAS]

she did it for love

[Joe]

Sorry Val, but just because it was her mother doesn't mean she was unharmed. Men are not the only ones that do bad things to children. In addition, she could have 'harmed' her daughter by keeping her from a father that loved her - making her believe that he didn't. The Times reported the facts as they are known now - that's their job. It's is not reporting the 'facts' to opine that the child was obviously unharmed because a mother would never harm her child - inputing opinion into would be something Fox news does. :)

[R. Santos]

This article is so poorly written it's embarrassing. Mother was arrested for kidnapping her own daughter 14 years ago from her own home in Monrovia? Hell in that case I was kidnapped by my parents too. They kept me for 18 tears until I escaped. Please, can you get the interns to stick to coffee making!

[SoCal]

Great post Joe. Couldn't agree more.

[Woochifer]

Uh, maybe it's not the writing as much as the reading that's at issue ...

Look at the sentence that says, "... suspected of abducting her 8-year-old daughter 14 years ago from the child's home in Northern California has been arrested in Monrovia." How does that imply that the child was abducted in Monrovia?

[lokster_2000]

Santos

Brilliant comment, I am still laughing

[markus Edwards]

LA Times, man. Hillarious! Not that a mother couldn't abduct her own kid (obviously the kid was taken away from her legally at some point), but the lack of detail in these articles is astounding.

[bgsiegman]

often the parental alienation of one parent over another (can be male or female), is just wrong. Kids deserve access to both parents in my view and this mother may not have deserved to be kept out of her daughter's life. Family court is generally a travesty. That is where OJ Simpson got custody of his kids while on trial for murdering their mother (which I still think he is guilty of doing). Hope everyone gets past this.

[R. Santos]

Yeah you are right, my bad. I should have paraphrased it differently. I should not get paid for reading such a well written and in depth article so poorly. I should have waited until all the facts are in to read it properly.

[really]

Is there really a story here? Sounds to me like the mother might have missed her daughter so much that she kidnapped and raised her until adult hood. Maybe the daughter accidentally let it slip out...

[Dave]

How does a mother abduct her own daughter???

[Chris]

Regarding the snide anti-Fox News crack: Fox News may be shallow, but at least it's not insane like the anchors at MSNBC. If you don't realize how skewed their "reporting" is, you're even worse than an ardent Fox viewer---because you're being fed pure bilge.

[just_joe]

The Times has a second article about this case. That article states that:

1. the mother had come in to L.A. for a business meeting and had gone to Claim Jumpers for dinner. She does not live in Monrovia.
2. The daughter lives out of state. (No mention if mother and daughter live together).
3. Mother is being extradited to Contra Costa County for booking.

Two short articles on the same subject and still not enough information to satisfy a high school journalism teacher.

[Winmancan]

billn: She is being justly vilified because she unjustly took the child from the Father, Grandparents, Cousins, Aunts and Uncles etc. As a Father unjustly denied access to his Daughter for over 9 years by my ex. believe me when I say to you there is serious injury to the child and extended Family. My Daughter and I have a fantastic relationship now after many years of hard work recovering from such an act. I was made a monster in my Daughters eyes for those 9 years and I have proven that to be a lie.

[Winmancan]

Santos learn how to read an article before you criticize it. This is also just a report on the arrest not an in depth article on the whole history of the story. Wait till the whole story comes out readers before you trash it.

[JG]

This is a classic case of a newspaper trying to compete with the blogosphere world of faux news. Until you've got something more substantial, don't publish. I'm sure there's a story there to be elaborated upon, but it's such a "quick, get it on the website" blurb, it's really meaningless. The strength of print journalism should be research, reliability, and detail.

[Kat]

If this "father" thinks that his daughter is going to "come to him" after he has jailed her mother, he is in for a rude awakening.
He has just done the unthinkable, resentment and hatred still after all these years. He should have instead tried to reestablish a relationship with his daughter. She will most likely never forgive him for this slight.

In the Know

[Ellen]

You guys don't be s0 ignorant. Go to the website Take Root and you will see stories of parentally abducted children. Often their names are changed and they never live a "normal life." To take a child from another parent is cruel and a crime.

[Brian]

I'm stunned my some of the comments here. It really gives you a sense for the lack of intellectual capacity of the average LA Times reader.

[madsircool]

"

If this "father" thinks that his daughter is going to "come to him" after he has jailed her mother, he is in for a rude awakening.
He has just done the unthinkable, resentment and hatred still after all these years. He should have instead tried to reestablish a relationship with his daughter. She will most likely never forgive him for this slight.

In the Know"

A slight?? The mother committed a felony and hid a child for 14 years. Try, if your prejudice allows, to put yourself in the fathers place. How was he to know she hadnt been killed?

This woman hasnt a clue.

[anonymous]

This is a little strange, Why is this lady arrested for kidnapping her own child? HOW THE HELL CAN YOU KIDNAP YOUR OWN CHILD? This seems like Half a story like it's missing the most important part!