Woman Arrested In Hastings Parental Abduction

HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) -- A 44-year-old woman has been arrested, accused of fleeing with her 5-year-old son in an attempt to keep him away from his father.

Police took Wendi Bartell Dimm into custody after tracking her down at a women's shelter in South Dakota, after a nationwide warrant was issued for her arrest. Her son, 5-year-old Timber Dimm, was also found at the shelter.

Authorities say Bartell Dimm fled in order to keep her son from having court-order visitation with his father. On June 23, Bartell Dimm was charged by Dakota County with one felony of depriving another of parental or custodial rights.

Timber Dimm has been turned over to Child Protective Services officials, pending the transfer of custody to the boy's father.

Bartell Dimm pulled a similar stunt in September of 2010 when she and her son fled to Alexandria. She was located when a deputy pulled her over for a routine traffic stop.

Bartell Dimm will be booked into the Meade County Jail in Sturgis, South Dakota pending extradition proceedings.