PITTSTON TWP., LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A 6-year-old girl was found safe after being reported missing over the weekend. As a result, two people have been charged for unlawfully taking her from a Luzerne County SkyZone.
According to the Pittston Township Police Department, on Saturday, a 6-year-old was last seen entering a car with tinted windows in the parking lot of SkyZone in Pittston Township.
Police stated they learned the child was in the company of 24-year-old Courtney Simoncavage, the victim’s biological mother, and Matthew Gill, 41, of Dupont, who was driving the car.
The victim’s grandmother was interviewed by police. She informed them there is an active custody court order stating Simoncavage is not allowed unsupervised contact with the child and custody is granted to the victim’s father, court documents say.
On Sunday investigators were able to locate Simoncavage at the Wilkes-Barre Lodge on Kidder Street, where she was found hiding in the bathtub behind a shower curtain, as stated in the affidavit. Officers then discovered that the child was with Gill, who drove to the Pittston Township Police Department where he was later arrested.
Simoncavage has been charged with two counts of interference with custody of a child, luring a child into a motor vehicle, and concealing the whereabouts of a child. She was arraigned and taken to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on a $40,000 bail.
Gill is charged with interference with custody of a child, luring a child into a motor vehicle, concealing the whereabouts of a child, and failing to secure a child in a child safety seat. Gill was also jailed on a $40,000 bail.
