The thought of losing a child is a huge worry for every parent. Most moms and dads feel a rush of panic when they realize their precious kid is gone. This fear became real for one dad, who spent the next six years praying for his daughter to come back home safely.

When Kayla Unbehaun disappeared in 2017, her dad held onto the hope that he would reunite with his daughter someday. He often shared his feelings on social media, expressing how much he missed her, even though he had no way to reach her or know if she was okay and doing well.

On Thursday, January 5, 2023, Ryan Iskerka wrote a long birthday email to his missing daughter, wishing her a happy 15th birthday. He shared, “I think about you every day and pray that you are safe and happy, and I really hope you come back to me soon.” It was clear how much he missed Kayla.

Ryan was awarded sole custody of their daughter after Heather tried to take him down in court.

Six years after Kayla disappeared, Ryan wondered if she would ever recall how deeply he loved her and all the amazing times they shared as a family. Even though his hope was slowly slipping away with each passing day, the father kept praying for Kayla to come back, saying, “I’ve loved you through everything.”

While Kayla was kidnapped, her family lived in South Elgin, Illinois. Ryan held onto hope, even though he wasn’t sure if he would ever see his daughter again. He shared what happened during the kidnapping, explaining that Kayla was taken away by her mother, who didn’t have permission to do so.

How Kayla Vanished
Ryan shared the story of how his ex-wife took their daughter without asking him first. Even though they had some problems, he and Heather Unbehaun, who is Kayla’s mom, were happy when they first got married. After they had Kayla, they decided to separate, which led to a long fight over who would take care of her. In the end, they were both given shared custody of Kayla.

Ryan finally got some wonderful news after searching for his daughter for six years.
Ryan said that he wouldn’t stop Heather from moving to Athens, Georgia, with Kayla, but he really wanted to make sure he could still see his daughter. While they were trying to figure out a visitation plan, Heather packed everything up and moved without telling Ryan.

Heather was really upset when Ryan asked for child support and visitation rights after he found out about the move from Kayla over the phone. Ryan said he thought Heather’s actions were like “a declaration of war.” When they went to court, Heather did everything she could to delay the visitation schedule.

Ryan didn’t get to spend much time with his daughter while dealing with the court issues. He only saw Kayla in person when Heather brought her over for Christmas, and the rest of the time, he could only talk to her on Skype for a few hours. Because they were apart for so long, Ryan felt like his bond with Kayla was weakening, and he noticed that she often seemed distant.

Ryan got full custody of their daughter after Heather tried to take it away from him in court. When Kayla moved in with Ryan, Heather came to get her for a camping trip in July. But when Ryan went to pick up Kayla on July 5, he still hadn’t heard from Heather.

When Ryan arrived at Heather’s dad’s house to pick up Kayla, he found it empty and locked up. Heather had a felony arrest warrant issued on July 29, 2017. After the kidnapping, Ryan sent a letter to his daughter, vowing that he would always keep searching for her.

Regaining Kayla
After six long years of looking for his daughter, Ryan received amazing news. In May 2023, a worker at a store in Asheville, North Carolina, spotted Kayla and remembered her. Right after she saw her, she quickly called the police, who arrived shortly after.

The worker asked for her name and the name of her store to be left out of the papers so she could stay anonymous. When someone asked her why she decided to call the police, she answered, “It was the right thing to do.”

After the successful search for Kayla, Lt. Diana Loveland from Asheville encouraged everyone to let them know about any similar sightings in the future.

Even though it doesn’t happen often, it’s great that people feel comfortable reaching out to us when they think they see someone they know, no matter how long ago the story happened.

Heather was quickly arrested by the Asheville Police and taken to the Buncombe County Detention Facility in North Carolina, where her bond was set at $250,000.

Luckily, Kayla’s story started to get noticed more and more. Ryan and his family set up a Facebook group called “Bring Kayla Home” to share information and help people learn about her kidnapping. The store clerk recognized Kayla from the Netflix show “Unsolved Mysteries,” which also talked about her disappearance.

Ryan thanked everyone who helped bring attention to the case and keep it going. “I’m so happy that Kayla is back home safe,” he said. He also wanted to give a big thank you to all the law enforcement agencies that worked on her case, like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the South Elgin Police Department.

Ryan’s bond with his daughter has really struggled since they were apart for six years. He wanted to keep his identity private while he slowly worked on rebuilding his relationship with Kayla. But this caring dad was determined not to lose his daughter again. “I want nothing more than to have you back in my life,” he wrote in a letter back in 2012. And now, she is back.