Louisiana couple accused of taking 2 year old from hospital arrested in Bay St. Louis

A couple accused of kidnapping their child from a hospital following a suspected overdose were arrested in Bay St. Louis Tuesday.

Arianne Stechmann, 37, and Johnathan Kritzman, 31, are accused of taking their 2-year-old son from a Louisiana hospital on Feb. 2, 2023, after the child was admitted into the pediatric intensive care unit days earlier for a suspected cocaine overdose.

Around 11 a.m. Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Bay St. Louis Police Department responded to a hotel on U.S. 90 in Bay St. Louis after marshals canvassing the area spotted a white truck the couple was believed to be traveling in.

Marshals recovered the missing child and arrested Stechmann and Kritzman. The child was transported to the hospital for a wellness check and will be under the care of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, which was granted emergency custody of the child before he was abducted from the hospital on Feb 2.

Warrants had been issued for Stechmann and Kritzman by St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office in February for felony obstructing justice and the child was listed as a missing/endangered child. The USMS New Orleans Task Force took over the case on April 1 and believed the couple fled to Hancock County to evade law enforcement in Louisiana.

“This was a great law enforcement joint effort by the US Marshals, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Bay St. Louis Police Department, and the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. There was an extensive search for this couple and missing child by everyone involved and it really shows what law enforcement is able to accomplish when multiple agencies put their resources together”, said Senior task force Inspector Jeremy Stilwell in a press release.

Stechmann and Kritzman are being held at the Hancock County jail pending their extradition back to Louisiana.