A mother in Arkansas has been arrested on serious charges after police allege she organised a fake kidnapping of her own disabled daughter in a desperate attempt to teach her a lesson about online dangers.
The staged abduction and police discovery
Tammi Hamby, 59, from Van Buren, a former member of the Crawford County Library Board, was taken into custody on Wednesday. She faces felony counts of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.
The drastic plan unfolded after the family discovered their 22-year-old daughter, who has developmental delays, had been communicating with and sending money to an individual pretending to be country music star Luke Bryan. According to arrest affidavits cited by local news, Hamby recruited three friends to help carry out the staged abduction.
On 17 November, Crawford County deputies responded to reports of a kidnapping. They claim to have found the young woman tied to a tree in a field, her hands secured with zip-ties and visible marks on her wrists. Affidavits state she was "in fear for her life" and clutching a teddy bear.
A father's defence and a predator's influence
The woman's father, Dr. Jeffrey Hamby, who is not facing charges, defended the intent behind the scheme in a Facebook post and statements to 40/29 News. He said the couple had grown desperate after months of trying to protect their daughter from an online predator.
"For the past six months, my special needs daughter has been affected by an online predator who has developed a trauma bond with her and now has her complete control," he said. "She believes it’s Luke Bryan, and we cannot talk her out of it."
Dr. Hamby described his daughter as having "the mentality of an 11-year-old" and said the family had exhausted all avenues for help, including pleading with three different law enforcement agencies. He stated he was unaware of the kidnapping plan until after it occurred but supported the motive.
"We’re trying to teach her that there are people who will hurt her," he told the outlet, adding he would spend every dime to defend his wife and the others involved.
How the fake kidnapping unfolded
According to the affidavits, certified nursing assistant Shannon Childers and friends David Quach and Nico Austria assisted in the ruse. Dr. Hamby explained that the two men, whom his daughter did not know, pretended to be associates of Luke Bryan.
"The first words out of my daughter’s mouth... was, ‘I thought it was tomorrow you were supposed to be here,’" Dr. Hamby said, claiming to have a video. "And they said, ‘Sorry, but Luke sent us today. It’s now or never.’ She gets in the car with them, with her guitar and her teddy bear, and goes with them willingly."
The group allegedly drove to a field, where the men then demanded money. When the young woman said she had none, they zip-tied her wrists and tied her to a tree. The affidavits claim they threatened to hurt her if she tried to run or yell. Dr. Hamby later contested the severity of these details, calling reports "exaggerated," though investigators stand by their findings.
Legal consequences and official scepticism
Crawford County Chief Deputy Brad Wiley expressed profound scepticism about the method used by the mother. "I don’t understand how you could teach anybody anything through trauma, especially a crime or kidnapping. It doesn’t stand to reason," Wiley told 40/29 News. "How would she understand? How could she differentiate between reality and a prank?"
The young woman has now been placed in state protective custody. Tammi Hamby's bail was set at $125,000, while the three other defendants each received bonds of $25,000. Hamby has since resigned from the Crawford County Library Board, citing a move out of the district.
This extreme case highlights the terrifying challenges families of vulnerable adults can face with online grooming and the difficult, sometimes illegal, lengths to which fear and desperation can drive them.
