Janet Jenkins, left, hadn’t seen her daughter since 2009 when former partner Lisa Miller fled to Nicaragua to avoid sharing custody of the girl. Photo courtesy of the Southern Poverty Law Center

Updated at 6:25 p.m.

A former Vermont woman who was charged with kidnapping more than a decade ago when she fled the country is now behind bars.

Lisa Miller had fled the United States in a custody battle with her former civil union partner, Janet Jenkins. After more than 10 years, Miller surrendered to the Nicaraguan authorities and was listed as an inmate in a Miami federal prison on Monday afternoon.

A federal judge in Florida ordered that she stay in jail until her case can be referred to a federal court in western New York, where the kidnapping charges have been made.

Authorities claim she traveled to Canada from New York State when she fled the country with child Isabella in 2009 after Jenkins, her former civil union partner, was given custody.

Isabella, now 18, is said to still be in Nicaragua.

Sarah Star, Janet Jenkins’ family lawyer in Vermont, said her client was relieved to find out her daughter’s whereabouts but was concerned that she was still in Nicaragua.

“I just want Isabella to know that I love her very much and that I have never stopped loving her,” Jenkins said in a statement released late Monday afternoon. “Isabella has a family and support system here that will always welcome her home with open arms.”

An attorney for Miller was not immediately available Monday afternoon.

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A federal warrant was issued against Miller for conspiracy and kidnapping. Related charges were also brought against others who had helped her escape and hide in Nicaragua for years, including an Amish-Mennonite pastor. They have since been arrested and sentenced.

The case known as Miller-Jenkins v Miller-Jenkins was one of the first legal cases to hit national headlines highlighting the fate of children in relationships that were sanctioned in one state but not in others.

Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins had moved to Vermont from Virginia in 2000 to form a civil union, and they returned to Virginia, where they decided that Lisa would conceive a child through artificial insemination.

The child Isabella was born in Virginia in April 2002 and the two women returned to Vermont. They later disbanded and requested the dissolution of their civil union. Miller moved back to Virginia and Jenkins lived in Fair Haven, Vermont.

In 2004, Judge William Cohen, now appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court, made a landmark decision in the civil union’s custody battle. For the first time in Vermont, Cohen’s decision granted legal parental rights to a person in a civil union even though that person was not the birth or adoptive parent of a child.

Miller made child abuse allegations against Jenkins in the custody battle. The state authorities investigated these allegations and found that they were unfounded.

Eventually, Cohen granted custody to Jenkins when Miller repeatedly refused to obey orders from the family court, including the visit. Jenkins received this custody just as Miller fled.

In addition to the criminal charges, Miller is facing a civil lawsuit Jenkins has filed against her and those who allegedly helped her escape the country.

Miller’s arrest came to light when Jenkins’ attorney asked a court Monday to summon Miller in connection with the civil lawsuit and found she was in custody in Florida.

According to Jenkins’ file, Miller was “brought back to the United States and arrested in Miami” on January 27 and appeared there for the first time in federal court the next day. She was held until transferred to New York State on criminal charges.

Since breaking up with Jenkins, Miller has said she “renounced her homosexuality” and was previously represented in the custody battle with Liberty Counsel, a conservative rights group known for supporting anti-gay causes.

Jenkins is represented on her civil action by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has identified Liberty Counsel as a hate group. Liberty Counsel is one of the parties Jenkins is suing.

Scott McCoy, interim assistant legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, made a statement on Miller’s arrest late Monday afternoon. “We expect her to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for kidnapping,” said McCoy.

Frank Langrock, another Vermont attorney involved in representing Jenkins, declined to comment on Monday and referred questions to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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LifeSiteNews, calling itself “The # 1 Pro-Life News Web Site,” launched a petition earlier this year listing more than 6,000 signatures urging President Donald Trump to bring Miller and the others in to excuse convicts. These pardons were not granted.

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