Haddonfield Police Help in Search for Abducted Infant

An NJ Transit worker helped Voorhees officers rescue a child abducted by his mother, who now faces charges, after the boy was taken from the Camden County Library Monday morning, Voorhees Police said.

Chantice Witherspoon, 38, who has no custodial rights over the child, was on a supervised visit with her 3-month-old son, when Witherspoon was able to slip away from her Department of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) case worker and take off in a cab, police said.

Voorhees officers contacted the cab company, which reported Witherspoon went to the PATCO station in Haddonfield, police said, and officers from PATCO and Haddonfield spotted her on video surveillance leaving the station in an NJ Transit bus.

NJ Transit employee Charles Ladzenski stepped in to help, police said, tracking down every driver with routes Witherspoon could've taken, leading police to find her at the bus stop at the Moorestown Mall.

Police commended Ladzenski for his efforts, calling him a key piece in bringing the boy home safely.

“I just wanted to know that child was safe,” he said.

Witherspoon has been charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree interference with custody, and was jailed in lieu of $75,000 bail.

The boy is safe and back in custody of DCPP, police said.