Rideshare driver busted for kidnapping claims toddler’s dad sold her for $10K
A rideshare driver has been nabbed in the kidnapping of a 2-year-old girl in Pennsylvania — but she told police the tot’s father “sold” her for $10,000, according to a new report.
Sharena Nancy, allegedly drove off with little Nalani Johnson just after 5 p.m. Saturday after giving the girl and her father, Paul Johnson, a ride, local outlet KDKA reported.
Nancy, whose car has both Uber and Lyft tags on it, claimed the dad pawned his own daughter off to someone for $10,000, and that Nancy was instructed to drive her “20 minutes from a gas station in Monroeville along Route 22.”
She told detectives that a woman standing next to a silver SUV with out-of-state plates flagged her down, the station reported. A second woman was reportedly waiting in the car.
Nancy said she handed Nalani and her car seat over to the women and drove away, the report said.
Meanwhile, Johnson told police that he was riding with Nalani and a pal, Justin Rouse, in Nancy’s Toyota Yaris when she stopped the car at an intersection in Penn Hills, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Johnson got out and when he went to retrieve Nalani, Nancy allegedly drove off, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the newspaper.
The dad said he then called Nancy’s cell phone to no avail and then police, who issued an Amber Alert.
Nancy was pulled over around 7:30 p.m. and taken into custody. She faces charges of kidnapping of a minor, interference with custody of children and concealment of whereabouts of a child, KDKA reported.
Nalani is still nowhere to be found.
Johnson’s mother Taji Walsh told the station that Nancy made up the whole story.
“The things that she indicated in her arrest record, which is public knowledge, are unfounded,” Walsh claimed.
If her son were involved, she added, “he wouldn’t be walking freely, he’d be locked somewhere up like [Nancy] is.”
Johnson has not been charged.
Nancy’s husband MD Raihan Uddin, told KDKA that his wife didn’t take the child — but claimed she knew Johnson.
“News says Paul Johnson doesn’t know Nancy, but Penn Hills detective told me they knew each other and Paul’s family members told me he knew Nancy since March…” Uddin told the station in a Facebook message.
Nancy is being held at the Allegheny County Jail while multiple authorities — including the FBI — continue to search for Nalani.
Uber told the station that no one with Nancy’s name used the app over the weekend, and Lyft said that the incident did not happen on its platform, adding that the “allegations are deeply disturbing.”
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