A reported burglary in Ottumwa quickly turned into a child-abduction investigation on October 5, 2020, after police learned a toddler had been taken from a home.
According to police, officers were called to a residence in the 1500 block of Albia Road for a report of a burglary in progress. When officers arrived, they were told that a child under the age of two had also been abducted.
Police immediately began searching for the child and the suspect. Approximately nine minutes after the initial call, officers located the child and 35-year-old Joseph Michael Agan of Ottumwa inside the Southern Iowa Mental Health Center.
The child was safely recovered, and authorities reported that no injuries were suffered by the toddler.
Police said Agan resisted arrest and assaulted officers before being taken into custody. He was booked into the Wapello County Jail and initially held without bond.
Agan faced charges including child stealing, third-degree burglary, interference with official acts and assault on a peace officer.
