An Arkansas mother has been arrested after allegedly staging her daughter’s kidnapping in an attempt to scare her away from an online predator posing as country star Luke Bryan.
Tammi Hamby, 59, a former Crawford County library board member from Van Buren, faces felony charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person. Police say she recruited three friends to help carry out the ruse.
When deputies responded to reports of a kidnapping on November 17, they found the 22-year-old woman, who is developmentally delayed, tied to a tree in a field with her hands zip-tied and marks on her wrists. According to affidavits, she was “in fear for her life” and clutching a teddy bear.
The woman’s father, Dr Jeffrey Hamby, who is not facing charges, said the family had discovered she was messaging and sending money to someone pretending to be Bryan. He said he did not know about the plan beforehand but defended its intent, claiming they had exhausted other options and wanted to show her “what real danger looks like”.
Crawford County Chief Deputy Brad Wiley criticised the approach, saying: “I don’t understand how you could teach anybody anything through trauma, especially a crime or kidnapping.” The young woman has been placed in state protective custody.
Hamby’s bail was set at $125,000, while the three other defendants each received $25,000 bonds. She resigned from the library board last month, citing a move out of the district.
