KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man who allegedly took a 4-year-old girl from an Independence home is charged with child kidnapping.
The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office filed the charge Thursday against Juan C. Lopez, 35, of Independence, Missouri.
Lopez is accused of taking the child, Raylanna Shepherd, from an Independence home he shared with a relative of the child, according to a court document.
Shepherd left with Lopez at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday night to go to a convenience store to pick up ice.
Lopez and the child left in Lopez's 2005 white Buick Le Sabre.
The woman told police she called Lopez after he and Shepherd had been gone for 45 minutes.
The store is less than a mile from her house, according to the court document.
Lopez told the woman his car had a flat tire and he was trying to get the tire repaired.
Police tracked down Lopez and Shepherd Wednesday night at a Quik Trip store at U.S. 40 Highway and Sterling Avenue.
Lopez told detectives he spent the hours away from the house with Shepherd at several gas stations and slept for two hours at a motel on U.S. 40 Highway, according to a court document.
Police noted Lopez failed to provide clear answers to questions from police about the incident.
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