Ritchhart indicted on multiple charges related to attempted kidnapping at daycare

POMEROY, Ohio – A woman that has been in headlines recently for her allegedly bizarre behavior has been indicted on multiple charges by a Meigs County Grand Jury.

According to Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney James Stanley, April Ritchhart, 39, of Racine, was indicted on the following charges: Abduction, a felony of the third degree; Abduction, a felony of the third degree; Assault, a felony of the fourth degree; Criminal Child Enticement, a misdemeanor of the first degree; Making False Alarms, a misdemeanor of the first degree; Inducing Panic, a misdemeanor of the first degree; Inducing Panic, a misdemeanor of the first degree; Aggravated Menacing, a misdemeanor of the first degree; Falsification, a misdemeanor of the first degree; Criminal Trespass, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree; Unlawful Restraint, a misdemeanor of the third degree; Resisting Arrest, a misdemeanor of the second degree; Obstructing Official Business, a misdemeanor of the second degree; Possession of Drugs (Suboxone), a misdemeanor of the first degree; and Public Indecency, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

Ritchhart had been arrested following an alleged attempted abduction of children from a daycare in Middleport, Ohio and allegedly ramming another vehicle in a separate incident.

The alleged strange behavior began with a bizarre series of events April 12, 2017 when sometime after 7 p.m. witnesses said they saw a Ritchhart behaving erratically near several local businesses in the village. Ritchhart allegedly was running and screaming at one point in a yard. She was reportedly driving “recklessly” in a late model white vehicle near Hill’s Sunoco, before heading out of town on State Route 124 east bound. Ritchhart allegedly crashed into another vehicle screaming that her children were in the trunk of the other vehicle in front of the Racine Ohio River Boat Ramp parking lot and entrance. There were two small children in the vehicle, but they were not related to Ritchhart. She was taken into custody at that point, but was out on bond when the second alleged incident occurred. She was indicted on one count of felonious assault related to the events of April 12.

At a later date, Ritchhart allegedly attempted to kidnap children from an in-home daycare in Middleport, Ohio. The children were not related Ritchhart. The charges she was indicted on are related to the alleged kidnapping. She has been held on a $200,000 bond.