An Incline Village woman was arrested Tuesday after she told authorities she abducted her non-custodial 6-year-old daughter in 1984.
Nancy Dunsavage Fiedler, 57, was arrested at her Incline Village home by Washoe County Sheriff's deputies. She is being held at the Washoe County Detention Facility on the no-bail warrant pending extradition to New Jersey, according to WCSO.
Authorities believe Dunsavage abducted Eva Marie Fiedler in Somerville, N.J., during a court recess.
• On Aug. 23, 1984, Nancy Dunsavage Fiedler fled from the Somerset County Courthouse with her daughter, Eva Marie Fiedler, then 6 years old, during a child custody hearing in which the father had full custody of the child.
• Nancy Fiedler has been a fugitive from justice since June 28, 1985, when she failed to appear for an arraignment on an indictment charging her with Interference with Custody, a crime of the fourth degree, said Somerset Prosecutor A. Peter DeMarco, Jr.
• Throughout the years, Somerset detectives followed dozens of leads both domestic and international in an attempt to locate Nancy Fiedler and her daughter. Detectives were also assisted in this endeavor by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
• On Tuesday, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office was contacted by the Washoe County deputies, stating that an Eva Marie Fiedler, now 31, was attempting to change her name to "Melissa Reed" to obtain a marriage license in Washoe County.
• A background check noted that Eva Marie Fiedler was a missing female as listed in the National Crime Information Center.
• Somerset detectives requested the assistance of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office in locating Nancy Fiedler at the Incline residence provided by Eva Marie Fiedler.
• At 8:16 p.m. Tuesday, WCSO deputies made contact with Nancy Fiedler at her residence. Nancy Fiedler first identified herself as "Debbie Reed." Deputies noted that "Debbie Reed" displayed the same descriptors as noted in the NCIC warrant.
• Nancy Fiedler was taken into custody and subsequently admitted to being Nancy Dunsavage Fiedler. She was charged with being a fugitive from justice.
• Detectives have stated throughout the years, Nancy Fiedler was able to remain undetected by obtaining a number of identities for her and her daughter.
"The detection and apprehension of defendant Fiedler would not have been possible if it were not for the direct cooperation of numerous law enforcement agencies," said Somerset County Prosecutor A. Peter DeMarco, Jr. in the press release. "It was truly a team effort once the lead was reported."
The following agencies assisted in the investigation: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; New Hampshire State Police Troop "C"; Washoe County Sheriff's Office Operation Bureau Patrol Division; Middle Atlantic Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network; and the Doe Network.
The North Lake Tahoe Bonanza does not identify juveniles by name in crime stories. However, Eva Marie Fiedler's disappearance has been known and reported on for more than two decades.
