Robert J. Shields, special agent in charge of the Milwaukee Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the arrest of Kimberly Lee Johns, age 46, of Marathon, Wisconsin, who was taken into custody without incident on March 18, 2016.

In May 2000, it is alleged that Johns kidnapped a victim in Allen Park, Michigan at gunpoint. The abduction lasted for several days and covered multiple states and ended with the escape of the victim and the initial arrest of Johns by FBI Chicago on an arrest warrant out of the Eastern District of Michigan for kidnapping. Johns was transported to a secure pretrial detention facility in Indiana. In September 2000, Johns went missing from the facility, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Johns remained at large for 16 years, until members of the FBI Milwaukee Division SWAT team arrested her at her home in Marathon, Wisconsin. The city of Marathon Police Department assisted the FBI in its investigation.

The public is reminded that a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.