Kentucky father reunited with daughter after 43-year alleged abduction

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WLKY) – For more than four decades, a Kentucky father held onto hope that he would see his little girl again.

She was just 3 years old when she and her mother disappeared.

Now, the child missing since 1983, Michelle Newton, has been reunited with the family that never stopped searching for her.

Her mother, Deborah Newton, is now facing charges.

Joe Newton, the man who has been reunited with his daughter, said, “She’s always been in our heart. I can’t explain that moment walking in and getting to put my arms back around my daughter.”

Forty-three years of waiting later, it’s a reality.

Joe Newton said, “And it’s hard to look at her as an adult when I last seen her when she was a 3-year-old.”

WLKY says it spoke to her father in 1986 about the case.

In 1983, Joe Newton and his wife, Deborah Newton, were planning to move to Georgia.

Deborah left early with their daughter, Michelle Newton.

However, when Joe Newton arrived, they were gone.

For more than four decades, there were no answers.

Karen Spalding, Michelle Newton’s aunt, said, “I’ve missed them so much. I didn’t even know if she was alive.”

A Crime Stoppers tip cracked the case this year, leading to Deborah’s arrest in Florida and her first court appearance in Jefferson County on Monday.

Chief deputy Steve Healey with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said, “For an individual to have the courage to come up and say I saw this. This is who I believe you’re looking for. You’re helping a victim and a victim’s family so much.”

Two weeks ago, Michelle Newton came home from work to police at her door saying the unthinkable.

She said, “You’re not who you think you are, You’re a missing person. You’re Michelle Marie Newton.”

In one moment, she went from an only child to discovering an entire family waiting for her.

When she and her father finally met, Joe Newton was on the porch waiting.

Joe Newton said, “I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything. It was just like I was seeing her when she was first born. It was like an angel.”

Even with her life upended, WLKY says her response wasn’t anger.

Michelle Newton said, “My intention is to support them both through this and trying to navigate and help them both just wrap it up so that we can all heal and hopefully, you know, there’s, there’s just apologies and start healing.”

Investigators say the charge of felony custodial kidnapping carries no statute of limitations.

That allows prosecutors to move forward in the case decades later.

Deborah Newton’s next court date is set for Jan. 23.