Police in Nebraska say 2 grandparents abducted their 4- and 7-year-old grandsons to teach their mother a lesson

• Nebraska State Patrol issued an Amber Alert on Monday after two boys, ages 4 and 7, were reportedly abducted.
• Two hours after the alert was issued, the boys were found in a car with their step-grandfather in Kansas.
• Police say the boys' grandmother was holding their mother against her will in an apparent attempt to teach her that she was a bad parent.
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An Amber Alert issued Monday for a 4-year-old boy and a 7-year-old boy in Nebraska was canceled hours later when police found them traveling in a car with their step-grandfather in Kansas, according to local television station WOWT.

The boys' grandmother is accused of holding their mother against her will so their step-grandfather could escape with them in his car. Authorities told WOWT that the reported abduction was an attempt to teach the boys' mother she was a "bad parent."

After receiving a tip, police arrested Tanner Leichleiter, 30, in Wichita, Kansas. The boys were found safe in his car, police told the station.

He and the boys' grandmother, who was not named, face criminal charges related to the reported abduction, according to WOWT and KWCH.

"The mom contacted us saying her two boys were gone and she couldn't find their step grandfather," Tekamah, Nebraska, Police Chief Dan Jacobs told WOWT. "She became ill from the concern and worry so we were doing everything we could to make sure the kids got back safely."

The Nebraska State Patrol issued the Amber Alert just after 8 a.m. on Monday after the boys' mother escaped the motel where she and several family members were living.

Within two hours of the alert being issued, sheriff's deputies in Sedgwick County, Kansas, received a 911 call that someone spotted the car Leichleiter had been driving when the driver stopped for directions, WOWT reported.

Deputies were then able to find and pull over the car driven by Leichleiter. There was a gun inside, according to WOWT.

"The kids were taken. They appear to be in good shape, good shape physically and mentally and they're all being interviewed right now," Sheriff's Office Sgt. Justin Crafton told the station after the boys were found. "The fact that so many people were able to get the information so fast. It's hard to believe how well it worked."

Leichleiter was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail. He and the grandmother don't appear to have been charged yet.

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