Woman arrested in 1998 kidnapping of sons in Spokane

MILTON, Pa. — Police in central Pennsylvania say a woman accused of kidnapping her own sons from Spokane has been arrested after 11 years as a fugitive. An arrest warrant was issued in Spokane in 1998 for a woman who was going by different names, including Jill Diane Haugen, according to the Associated Press. The 48-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday at her home in Milton, Pa., where she was also going by the name Ann Thompson. Milton Police Officer Todd Ulrich says he reached the children’s father on the phone Tuesday. Ulrich says William Connington, of Spokane, was “absolutely surprised” and had thought he’d never see his sons again. Connington’s 17-year-old son, Anthony, and 15-year-old son, Jamey, are in foster care for now. According to AP, Haugen said Tuesday that she is a victim of domestic violence and her sons are victims of sexual abuse. Police say there’s no merit to her claims. Spokane police today said police in Milton went to Haugen’s home on Saturday on a call of a family dispute. The woman there identified herself as Jill Haugen with two children. The next day officers went back to the home and the same woman identified herself as Ann Thompson. Officials from Northumberland County, Pa., child and youth services were called into the case and took the two children into foster care. Police and youth officials found that the woman was using many aliases, but her actual name is Jill Connington. Since taking the children from Spokane, the boys names and birthdates had been changed several times, Spokane police said. She has been wanted since 1998 on a Spokane County felony warrant charging her with first-degree custodial interference.