Dad refusing to return child to mom threatens her, MO cops say. ‘Bring your army’
A father refusing to bring his child back to the mother threatened to kill her and any authorities if they tried to intervene, Missouri deputies said.
“Step one foot on this property, you’re going to regret it,” he said in text messages to the mother on July 5, according to a news release by the Shannon County Sheriff’s Office. “Bring your army.”
The dad sent “alarming” texts saying he had a rifle and that anyone who showed up at his home should “be prepared to die,” deputies said.
McClatchy News is not naming the father to protect the identity of the child.
Shannon County SWAT, in addition to other law enforcement, showed up at the Birch Tree home and used a PA system to tell the father to leave, according to deputies.
He walked out onto the porch while holding the child but refused to go farther until deputies persuaded him, the sheriff’s office said.
The dad was arrested, and the child was safely secured, deputies said.
In the home, authorities said they found two loaded rifles and one shotgun. A bag containing white residue and a glass bulb often used to smoke methamphetamine was left near children’s toys, according to deputies.
Other drugs that could have been within reach of a child were found in the home, deputies said.
The dad was charged with violating his probation, parental kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to the news release. Deputies said they expect prosecutors to file additional charges.
He was on probation and parole after he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and failure to pay child support, deputies said.
Birch Tree is about a 170-mile drive southwest from St. Louis.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Dad refusing to return child to mom threatens her, MO cops say. ‘Bring your army’."
