Officials say the children, ages 7 and 5, were found safe and reunited with their father after an overnight arrest in Seminole County.
EDGEWATER, Fla. — A 34-year-old mother barred by a court from contacting her children was arrested Monday after investigators say she took the pair from their father’s vehicle at a gas station on Sunday evening along West Indian River Boulevard.
Police and court records indicate the case centers on a parental abduction, not a stranger kidnapping, but it still triggered a regionwide search that ended with an arrest in neighboring Seminole County. Edgewater police said the woman, identified as Emily St. Clair, is being held without bond. The children, a 7-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, were not hurt and were returned to their father shortly after officers located them. The arrest closes a tense, fast-moving incident that unfolded in seconds outside a busy convenience store.
Investigators said the encounter began Sunday, Dec. 21, when the children’s father briefly went inside a gas station in the 600 block of West Indian River Boulevard. Surveillance video reviewed by local media shows a woman arrive in an SUV, open the door of the father’s vehicle and remove one child before the second climbs into the SUV moments later. “The children were located safe and reunited with their father,” the Edgewater Police Department said in a statement Monday, adding that the suspect had been under a Department of Children and Families order prohibiting contact. Officers said St. Clair left the lot within seconds and headed southbound on U.S. 1. The father, who immediately suspected who had taken the children, called 911.
Police identified St. Clair using the surveillance footage, witness accounts and prior case history tied to the no-contact order. Edgewater detectives also noted an active felony warrant for drug possession in St. Clair’s name. Overnight, agencies in Volusia and Seminole counties circulated a description of a “newer-model” Chevrolet SUV linked to the case. By early Monday, officers said they tracked St. Clair to Seminole County, where deputies took her into custody without incident. Authorities said the children appeared physically unharmed when they were recovered. Officials did not release the exact times of the arrest or recovery, and they did not immediately list the final charges beyond the violation of the court order and interference with custody.
Edgewater is a small city along the Indian River, south of New Smyrna Beach, where family-court cases occasionally intersect with local policing. Parental abductions often hinge on existing custody rulings; in this case, police emphasized that a DCF order barred contact. Previous local incidents have drawn quick responses from surrounding agencies because many routes link Volusia County to Seminole and Orange counties within an hour’s drive. Surveillance cameras at gas stations and large intersections commonly supply the clearest timelines, which investigators referenced here to show how the removal of the children happened in seconds while a parent was inside the store.
St. Clair made a first appearance before a Seminole County judge Monday morning and was ordered held without bond, according to police. A next court date is set for February. Edgewater police said they are coordinating with state child-welfare officials and prosecutors to determine the final charging language and venue, given that the pickup happened in Volusia County and the arrest occurred in Seminole County. Officials said they expect to release an incident report with additional times and booking details once the paperwork is processed.
Traffic moved normally again Monday at the Sunoco along West Indian River Boulevard, where workers said customers had asked about the case throughout the day. A clerk who watched the video clip described it as “over in a flash.” A neighbor who lives off U.S. 1 said patrol cars were more visible overnight. “We were relieved to hear the kids were okay,” the neighbor said. Police did not report any injuries to officers or bystanders during the search and arrest.
As of late Tuesday, St. Clair remained in the Seminole County jail, and police said the case file would be forwarded to prosecutors this week. Officials said any additional records, including the full surveillance video and the incident report, are expected to be available after routine redactions. The next milestone is the filing decision and a formal arraignment date in February.
Author note: Last updated December 23, 2025.