Texas County authorities arrested a man Tuesday after deputies say he abducted his young daughter from her mother’s home and fled the area, prompting a multi‑agency search across southern Missouri.
According to a probable cause statement filed April 22, deputies responded to a residence for a reported kidnapping after the children’s mother said a man in full camouflage “ran out of the woods, and snatched J1” while the children were playing outside. The mother told investigators she suspected the child’s father, 38‑year‑old Preston Kamler, due to an ongoing Greene County investigation involving alleged physical assault of the child. The document states: “a man dressed in all camouflage, ran out of the woods, and snatched J1… RP advised she suspected J1’s father, Preston Kamler.”
A sibling who witnessed the incident told deputies the man grabbed the child and said, “don’t tell your mom, she stole her from me,” before running back into the woods with the child.
During the investigation, Kamler called Texas County 911 and admitted taking the child but refused to meet with deputies, disclose his location, or cooperate. Deputies attempted an emergency cell‑phone ping, but the statement says Kamler appeared to turn off his phone.
Law enforcement later located a vehicle believed to be used in the abduction abandoned at one of Kamler’s businesses in Springfield. Inside, troopers found a cell phone and a stuffed animal. The statement notes: “This vehicle was located abandoned in Springfield… an abandoned cell phone, and a stuffed animal was located with the vehicle.”
Missouri State Highway Patrol located the child in Springfield in good health, and Kamler was taken into custody shortly afterward.
Deputies wrote that Kamler’s actions—concealing the child, refusing contact with law enforcement, and fleeing during an active investigation—posed a danger to the child’s safety and well‑being.
Kamler is charged with Interference with Custody – Removed from State or Concealed.
