A 6-year-old girl, who was kidnapped over a month ago, has been found safe after a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper stopped two men on the road for a traffic violation.

The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) shared in a Facebook post on Saturday, March 22, that a trooper with their criminal interdiction unit conducted a traffic stop on an SUV finding two men in their 60s inside along with a little girl in the backseat.

KHP said that the driver of the car was discovered to have had a criminal history that included “homicide and numerous weapons violations over the years” and the passenger “had a warrant for his arrest from another state for kidnapping a 6-year-old girl just over a month prior.”

“After the trooper and a deputy from a local sheriff’s office quickly secured both the driver and passenger, the trooper safely removed the little girl from the vehicle,” KHP said in their post.

They shared that the 6-year-old — who was not identified — had been “coached” by one of the men to give “a false name and date of birth” in order to “keep the adult out of jail,” KHP said. Eventually, troopers were able to calm her down and get her to “tell him her real name.”

“She was the kidnapping victim, who had been with this suspect for over a month on the run,” KHP said. “Thankfully the girl was unharmed, and the men were taken into custody.”

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KHP provided two photos of the black SUV stopped on the side of a highway, including one that showed a man putting his hands above his head next to the vehicle. In a second photo, a little girl could be seen talking to a man right outside the car.

In an update on their initial post, the KHP thanked people “for the outpouring of support” for their division and for the trooper involved.” They wrote, “This is an incredible story that highlights the unpredictable nature of a trooper’s job and the real impact they can have on people’s lives.”

KHP also noted that it “received many requests for more details of the stop,” but were unable to “release any further details” in order to “protect the identity of the child and integrity of open cases.” 

Authorities shared that they are continuing their investigation into the incident.

According to the Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center (CCPSC), a child goes missing or is abducted in the U.S. “every 40 seconds.” The CCPSC said that “approximately 840,000 children are reported missing each year.”

The AMBER Alert system is a notification system which alerts citizens in all 50 states in the U.S. of a missing child. According to its website, “1,221 children were successfully recovered through the AMBER Alert system” and “at least 195 children were rescued because of wireless emergency alerts,” as of December 6, 2024. 

A Kansas highway trooper rescued a 6-year-old girl missing for over a month after she was kidnapped and took two men she was with into custody, authorities said Saturday.

The Kansas Highway Patrol trooper pulled over an SUV for a traffic violation and discovered that the front-seat passenger had a warrant for his arrest from another state for kidnapping a 6-year-old girl just over a month earlier, the agency said.

The trooper spotted a girl around that age inside the vehicle with the passenger and driver, both men in their 60s, highway patrol said. It was also discovered that the driver had a criminal history which included homicide and numerous weapons violations.

The trooper, with help from a local sheriff’s deputy, secured both men before safely removing the girl from the vehicle, highway patrol said.

“This 6-year-old girl gave the trooper a false name and date of birth, after having been coached to do so, in an attempt to keep the adult out of jail,” the agency said. “Ultimately, our trooper calmed the girl down and got her to tell him her real name.”

The girl was identified as the kidnapping victim who had been with the suspect on the run for over a month, according to authorities. 

The girl was unharmed, according to the agency, and the two men were taken into custody. 

Kansas Highway Patrol told Fox News Digital that the traffic stop occurred in February. They were unable to share additional information at this time to protect the identity of the child and the integrity of the open case.

Kansas politician Scott Schwab announced a cancer diagnosis on Friday, but said it won’t keep him from continuing in his current job or from running for higher office.

“During a routine cancer screening in December doctors found that I have a lung nodule that is cancerous, and I will be undergoing surgery next week to have it removed,” Schwab, the secretary of state, said in a social media post Friday afternoon. “It has not spread or changed.

“My doctors have confirmed it was found very early, and no further treatment will be required post-surgery. I will make a full recovery. While I will take some time to recover, I remain committed to serving Kansans as Secretary of State and returning to the campaign trail as I continue my run for governor.”

Schwab, a Republican, is running for governor in 2026. He was elected secretary of state in 2018 and reelected in 2022 after serving in the Legislature, representing an Olathe district.

He is the biggest name so far to declare for the 2026 gubernatorial race, though more candidate announcements are expected next month after the legislative session ends.

Politicians, government officials have shared cancer diagnoses in recent years

Schwab joins a list of Kansas politicians and government officials who have publicly shared cancer diagnoses in recent years, often while continuing to serve.

In 2021, Jeff Colyer dropped out of the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary race and endorsed Derek Schmidt after a prostate cancer diagnosis.

In 2023, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announced a breast cancer diagnosis. The Topeka Republican continued serving in her elected office while being treated. Schmidt shared that she was cancer-free later the same year.

Also in 2023, Kansas State University president Richard Linton shared that he had been diagnosed with throat and tongue cancer. Around the same time, Kansas Board of Regents member and then-chair Jon Rolph was also diagnosed with cancer.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.