Chesapeake, Va. - The gut-wrenching fear and anxiety she's felt for the past week is finally gone for a Missouri mother. Monday morning Helen Omeni was reunited with her 4-year-old daughter in Chesapeake.
Police say the little girl had been abducted by her grandmother.
NewsChannel 3 caught up with the mother and daughter at the Norfolk International Airport as they began their trip home.
Helen Omeni described the emotional moment she saw her daughter at the Chesapeake Social Services office earlier in the day.
"We both ran into each other's arms and we were crying at the same time. She was so excited to see me and I was just so relieved. My stomach was nauseous the whole time and I was just shaking the entire time waiting for her," said Omeni.
The last time she saw her daughter Sabrina was in May. Helen Omeni says the girl's grandmother, Terry Omeni was supposed to have her for about a month over the summer to spend time together and go to a family reunion.
When the time came to bring the little girl home in mid-July, Omeni says the grandmother asked to postpone the return trip.
Then, contact grew less frequent until eventually, she couldn't reach her at all.
Missouri police listed the four-year-old as a missing and endangered child until Sunday, when police say they found the grandmother and little girl at a Chesapeake hotel.
Terry Omeni was taken into custody with a warrant pending from Missouri for child abduction.
"I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this, but you don't take someone else's child and not answer back," said Helen Omeni.
Terry Omeni is currently in the Chesapeake City Jail awaiting extradition.
