West Jordan Teacher Turns Herself In, Faces Child Kidnapping Charges

WEST JORDAN, Utah — A West Jordan elementary school teacher turned herself in Tuesday after being charged with child kidnapping and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Amy Martz was accused of kidnapping a child from the school she teaches at after she allegedly took the child by the hand on a 40-minute walk off school property on Sept. 4 after school ended for the day, according to charging documents.

Chief Deputy Jeff Hall with the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said the girl’s mother had come to the school saying her daughter, who is “autistic and mostly non-verbal,” never got off the bus.

The girl was later found with Martz who teaches at Fox Hollow Elementary School in West Jordan.

“It was at the end of the school, [Martz] noticed that the child was having an issue of concern and the teacher took the student and then the two of them walked off campus,” Hall said.

The principal told investigators that “Martz had been away from the school, alone with [the girl] for approximately 40 minutes and that Martz stated she had tried to give [the girl] a ‘piggyback’ ride.”

Court documents said Martz told a teacher that she “was in a bit of a pickle” and had taken the girl in hand to help find her mother.

As a result, Martz was charged with one first-degree felony count of child kidnapping, which is punishable by up to life in prison.

A warrant was issued for Martz arrest on Monday and she turned herself in at the Salt Lake County jail and posted her bail of $25,000 on Tuesday.

Hall said it became an issue when they stepped off school property.

“The teacher took the student by the hand and rather than doing the several things that appear to be in policy the teacher took the child off-campus and they were gone for quite a while,” Hall said. “When a policy is departed from then no one knows what is going on and there is a great deal of concern until everyone is reunited.”

Just weeks ago, Martz was running for a West Jordan City Council seat and according to her resume, she is a lawyer, has a law practice and is the mother of four adopted children.

That’s why Kara Whitton, a neighbor and friend of Martz, said she believes there must be some kind of misunderstanding.

“Huge mistake, huge misunderstanding, huge,” Whitton said. “She’s a good person a really good person. She a great neighbor. I just don’t see it happening. I see it as a huge misunderstanding.”