W.Va. couple arrested in South Carolina after allegedly kidnapping biological child

KINGSTREE, S.C. (WCHS) — A Randolph County couple were arrested in South Carolina on Sunday after they allegedly fled West Virginia with their child, which they didn’t have legal custody over, troopers said.

Darries L. Fauntleroy and Megan R. Fauntleroy, both 40, of Montrose were each charged with felony conspiracy and taking a minor child from a custodian out of the state of West Virginia, according to a press release from the Elkins Detachment of West Virginia State Police.

Troopers said the seven-year-old child was in custody of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The Fauntleroys are the biological parents of the child, but allegedly neither had legal custody of the child. In particular, Megan was allegedly not allowed to be in the presence of the child, according to troopers.

Troopers said according to WVDHHR, the couple took the child from the area and were believed to have fled the state, making their way to South Carolina. After an investigation between WVSP, the United States Marshals Service and local South Carolina law enforcement, troopers said the couple was located.

The couple was then arrested in Kingstree, S.C., by officers with the Kingstree Police Department, the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshals Service, troopers said, adding that they are both awaiting extradition back to West Virginia.

Meanwhile, the child was safely located and is in the custody of the South Carolina Department of Social Services awaiting a safe return to the care of WVDHHR.