Published: Wednesday, July 19, 1995
Section: LOCAL
Page: 1B
Kathryn Reiter made plans to disappear with her foster child, Baby J,
long before a judge awarded custody of the girl to biological relatives,
FBI and police documents show.
Reiter researched obituaries for a new identity, tried twice to get fake driver's licenses and enlisted the help of friends before vanishing for 25 days with Baby J, 2 1/2, and her adopted son, Thomas, 8.
"I never truly thought I would need to have a Plan B," Reiter said Tuesday. "I did what I had to do for my family."
A year before the final custody decision, Reiter, who works at Nova Southeastern University, talked to a friend, Carol Gannon, about fleeing, an FBI report recounts.
"Gannon stated that Reiter had mentioned going to New Zealand because (it) did not have an extradition treaty with the United States," the report said.
As it became apparent that court decisions would favor the child's biological relatives, Reiter, 38, said she planned "half-heartedly" to run away with her children. Her planning grew more deliberate, and hours before she was to give the baby up, she took off.
Her scheme began last winter at a public library where Gannon helped her scan obituaries on microfiche, looking for identities that matched Reiter and Baby J. Once they found what they needed, Reiter went to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Miami. Eventually, she got birth and death certificates, the report said.
On Feb. 8, Reiter went to a driver's license counter at a Miami Beach EckerdDrugs and requested a duplicate driver's license in the name of Barbara Ann McGuire, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report shows.
She used the birth certificate and a credit card as identification, the report said. When computer records showed McGuire was dead, the clerk refused to issue a license.
Reiter tried again in March at a North Dade office, the report said. She showed the birth certificate and said her New York license had been stolen. Again, the ploy failed.
Reiter was running out of time. On March 7, Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman awarded custody of Baby J to the girl's relatives in Hollywood. Lederman ordered the Reiters, who had cared for the child for two years, to turn the toddler over to the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services officials the next day. Another hearing was held the next day to finalize arrangements.
FBI and police reports show Reiter left town immediately after the hearing. A colleague picked her up at the courthouse, drove her to a Hollywood parking lot where her husband and children waited in a rental car leased earlier by a friend. The trunk was packed with two suitcases, a cooler and fishing poles.
Later that evening, an HRS worker went to the Reiters' Hollywood home to pick up Baby J. Reiter's husband, Sidney, 74, told police his wife had telephoned to say she'd be delayed and needed another hour to take the children to dinner.
A few hours later, HRS alerted police. By that time, Reiter was driving to Seminole, a town on Florida's Gulf Coast. "If it looks premeditated, it was only because the handwriting was clearly on the wall," said Reiter's attorney, Miguel de la O. "It was not criminal intent. Her only thought was for the best interest of the children."
On March 9, Reiter appeared at her stepson's collectibles business in Seminole and asked him to help her buy a car, FBI reports show. She bought a 1986 Pontiac Sunbird for $3,886.95, but couldn't get a tag because she didn't have a driver's license. Instead, she posted a cardboard "lost tag" sign in her back window, the report said.
For two days, Reiter and the children stayed at La Haina Beach Resort on Treasure Island where they spent most of their day fishing from the pier. She moved to the Surfwinds Resort on March 11 and paid rent through March 16. On March 14, she left a note for the resort manager, saying she was taking her children to Busch Gardens and not to rent out her apartment. Reiter said she never went to the amusement park.
Instead, they drove to Gainesville, Reiter said Tuesday.
Two weeks later, on April 1, she surrendered to Miami Police and vowed to fight in court to adopt the girl. She spent five nights in jail, charged with concealing a child against a court order, a felony.
She is out on bail awaiting a July 24 trial date.
Baby J now lives in Hollywood with relatives who have filed court papers to adopt her.