3 young Arizona children OK after abduction; noncustodial parents arrested

PHOENIX – The search for three young children allegedly abducted by their noncustodial parents in rural northern Arizona last week ended Wednesday when they were found safe in Apache Junction, authorities said.

The kids were taken Dec. 7 from the home of their grandparents, who have temporary custody, in Paulden, a community north of Prescott, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release Thursday.

YCSO investigators determined that the parents, 36-year-old Ryan Nicholas Mullin of San Tan Valley and 32-year-old Ashlee Lynne Waldie of Paulden, had taken the children to the Phoenix area.

The parents have a history of drug use and neglecting the children, YCSO said.

The grandparents told investigators Mullin called them early Dec. 7 to say he was coming and threatened to kill them if they tried to keep him from taking the kids, according to YCSO.

The U.S. Marshals Task Force, using information gathered by YCSO, found the two suspects and the children in a car in Apache Junction on Wednesday.

Task force members waited for Mullin to be away from the children before taking him into custody, according to YCSO. They then arrested Waldie in a store.

The suspects were booked into Yavapai County jail for abduction of a child from state custody. Mullin might face additional charges because he was found with a gun, YCSO said.

The kids were checked out by medical personnel before being turned over to the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

“The defense of children is one of our highest priorities, and the collaboration between YCSO and the Marshals office demonstrated just how powerful a force the partnership in law enforcement can be when we are when trying to protect our kids,” Sheriff David Rhodes said in the release.

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