AMBER Alert canceled: Wisconsin girl found safe, man in custody
Joseph Nicpon
MILWAUKEE - A convicted sex offender is in custody Saturday after an 8-year-old Wisconsin girl, who became the subject of an AMBER Alert, was found safe in Nebraska.
AMBER Alert issued
The backstory:
The Wautoma Police Department reported the 8-year-old girl missing on Saturday morning, April 4. She was found safe later that day, and the AMBER Alert was canceled.
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According to the Wautoma Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections was notified that 44-year-old Joseph Nicpon removed his GPS tracking bracelet in Adams County. Nicpon, convicted of child incest and sentenced to prison in 2017, was released from prison on supervised release on Tuesday, March 31.
Wautoma police later learned a woman took her 8-year-old daughter to meet Nicpon. Police said Nicpon was prohibited from having contact with the woman and her daughter, and believed they may have fled the state.
Court records show Nicpon had also been convicted of fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to probation in 2015.
In custody
What they're saying:
The Wautoma police chief told FOX6 News the three were located on I-80 between Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Nicpon was taken into custody, and the mother is still being questioned.
Nebraska State Patrol said troopers stopped the suspect's vehicle in Gretna, just outside Omaha. Nicpon was arrested without incident and booked into the Cass County Jail.
The Wautoma Police Department and Adams County Sheriff's Office led the investigation with assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals, FBI Nebraska State Patrol and other agencies.
Omaha is roughly 480 miles southwest of Wautoma. Wautoma is roughly 40 miles west of Oshkosh.
Editor's note: This story was updated multiple times as the status of the missing person's report changed, and new information was obtained. FOX6 News named the missing girl and showed her picture because there was an AMBER Alert and police and the public were trying to find her and bring her to safety. Now that she's been found, FOX6 will no longer use her name and photo to protect her privacy.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the Wautoma Police Department, Adams County Sheriff's Office and Wisconsin Department of Justice, which issued the AMBER Alert information.