Couple suspected of kidnapping sons await extradition for other alleged offenses

Two people were arrested on unrelated warrants when the Cape Girardeau Police Department recovered a pair of young boys May 21 from a U-Haul truck traveling along Interstate 55.

Jason R. Braman, 39, of Lafe, Arkansas, was arrested on suspected scrap metal theft and his wife, Michelle B. Braman, 33, of Rector, Arkansas, was arrested for alleged possession of drug paraphernalia, police spokesman Darin Hickey said. Both warrants originated in the couple's home state of Arkansas.

The two were taken to the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office pending extradition, but no charges had been filed in connection with the traffic stop by late Tuesday afternoon, Hickey said.

On May 21, the Cape Girardeau Police Department received information that a parental kidnapping had occurred in Rector, according to an email from police spokesman Jason Selzer. The parents' U-Haul truck was spotted traveling past Cape Girardeau on I-55 south about 9:20 a.m., and police stopped the vehicle near the 96-mile marker, according to the email.

Officer Allen Haywood of the Rector Police Department said the children's grandmother, their legal guardian, had put a GPS tracker on one of their phones, which helped locate them.

"It was just luck," Haywood said. "I'm just glad they're OK."

Two adults were in the front of the U-Haul and an adult and the two boys, age 10 and 13, were in the enclosed bed of the truck when it was stopped, according to the email.

The children were taken into custody and released to the Department of Social Services. They were scheduled to be picked up by their grandmother.

Pertinent address:

Interstate 55, Cape Girardeau, Mo.