Missing
Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips
Katherine, approximately 2011; Sean Phillips; Ariel Courtland; Sean's car; Missing cellular phone
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/29/2011
Missing location (approx) :
Ludington, Michigan
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 02/12/2011 (10)
Age at the time of disappearance: 4 months old
Height / Weight : 2'0, 12 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A one-piece white outfit with black polka dots, black and pink flowers and pink shoulder straps.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Light brown hair, blue eyes. Katherine's nicknames are Kate and Katerbugger, and many Age at the time of disappearance: ncies refer to her as Kate Phillips. She has a cleft chin.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Katherine was last seen in Ludington, Michigan on June 29, 2011. She lived with her mother, Ariel Courtland, at Birch Lake Apartments in the 900 block of east Tinkham. That day, Courtland got into an argument with her boyfriend, Sean Michael Phillips.
They were sitting with in his car in front of the building, with Katherine in the backseat. Courtland stepped out of the car to go get Katherine's stroller from her apartment, and while she was gone, Sean drove away unexpectedly, taking Katherine with him.
His vehicle was a silver 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue with the Michigan license plate number BUY0298. Photos of Sean, Courtland and the car are posted with this case summary.
Courtland repeatedly called Sean's cellular phone when she realized he was gone, but he never answered. Once she realized he'd deliberately taken Katherine and wasn't coming back, she called 911 and the police began looking for them.
Sean was arrested a few hours later at the home he shared with his parents in the 200 block of Millerton Road in Scottville, Michigan and charged with kidnapping. His vehicle was also recovered.
Katherine's car seat and diaper bag were in the trunk, and Sean had her clothes in his pocket. But the baby wasn't with him, however, and he refused to say where she was. He initially claimed he'd left the baby with Courtland.
Sean was a soldier with the Army National Guard and was scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in August 2011; he was reportedly very stressed over his pending deployment and other issues in his life.
He is the father of Courtland's older daughter and was presumed to be Katherine's father as well, but his paternity hadn't been proven in court by the time of her abduction. Sean didn't feel he could afford to support two children, and he also didn't want to tell his parents he had fathered another child.
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