Woman charged with kidnapping Wisconsin newborn expected to appear in court in Iowa

TIPTON, Iowa – A woman charged with kidnapping a Wisconsin newborn and leaving him behind an Iowa gas station is due in court Friday.

An extradition hearing's scheduled for Kristen Smith on a Texas warrant charging her with tampering with government records.

Federal prosecutors have charged Smith with kidnapping Kayden Powell but have yet to take her into federal custody. She's been jailed on the Texas warrant and an Iowa child endangerment charge.

Investigators say Smith took her half sister's baby from a southern Wisconsin home Feb. 6. After the baby's mother reported him missing, police contacted Smith as she was driving through Iowa and ordered her to stop for questioning.

She denied knowledge of Kayden's whereabouts, but was arrested on the Texas warrant. Police found the child alive about 29 hours later.