A Stafford County woman who abducted her four children in June 2019 was
arrested early Wednesday morning in Indiana with the assistance of a U.S. Marshals Service Task Force.
The arrest followed a five-month-long joint investigation and a nationwide search for Bannister and the children. The children have been identified as Genevieve Bannister, 13; Janelle Bannister, 12; Vivienne Bannister, 11; and Peter Bannister, 7.
The children were found safe in the vehicle and were turned over to the Department of Child Services.
They are in the process of being reunified with their father. Bannister was wanted out of Stafford County on a felony charge of violation of a court order,
four misdemeanor abduction charges, and a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report.
She is currently being held at the Hendricks County Jail in Indiana.
The investigation began in early June 2019 when Bannister informed deputies that her four children were being abused by a family member, according to the Stafford sheriff’s office.
A joint investigation with Stafford County law enforcement and Child Protective Services determined the allegations were unfounded. Shortly after the conclusion of the investigation, Bannister left Virginia with the children on a planned vacation and never returned.
In July 2019, the children’s father petitioned the Stafford County Juvenile Domestic & Relations Court for custody of the children. The courts issued an order granting the father custody, according to the Stafford sheriff’s office.
Bannister refused to return the children and subsequently petitioned the courts in Alabama requesting custody be issued to her there, according to the Stafford sheriff’s office.
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To celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week (May 6-10, 2024), Clean Air Partners is working with A Few Cool Hardware Stores to exchange DC, Maryland and Virginia residents’ gas-powered lawnmowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers at select Ace Hardware locations in the region. DMV residents who turn in their gas-powered lawn tools will receive a FREE Ego Power+ replacement including batteries and chargers, while supplies last.
Compared to gas, electric lawn equipment can reduce emissions, noise pollution, health risks and maintenance costs and time. The program aims to remove about a hundred gas-powered polluting tools from yards in the greater Baltimore-Washington region.
The exchanges will take place the weekends of May 17-19, 2024, and May 31-June 2, 2024, at A Few Cool Hardware Stores network of employee-owned Ace Hardware stores in the DC and Baltimore metro areas. To participate and get your free Ego Power+ lawn tool, sign up at https://qrco.de/CAPExchange to reserve your tool and select your trade-in date and location.
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Free Irish Music Concert
Welcoming Spring with music from the Emerald Isle, the New Dominion Choraliers offer a FREE concert on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Presbyterian Church of Dale City.
Joined by Legacy Brass and members of Old
Spring Ceili: An Irish Music Festival
The New Dominion Choraliers of Prince William County and McGrath Morgan Academy of Irish Dance invite you to join them at our Ceili, a grand celebration of Irish music and dance.
A gathering of performance groups throughout Prince William County
