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SOUTH JORDAN — A California woman who police say prompted an Amber Alert in Utah over the weekend when she took her children, whom she did not have legal custody of, had previously stated she intended to drive her and her children off of a cliff, according to prosecutors.
On Monday, Allison Brimhall, 39, of Sacramento, was charged in 3rd District Court with four counts of child kidnapping, a first-degree felony.
In June, the Division of Child and Family Services took Brimhall's four daughters, ages 9, 9, 11 and 12, into protective custody and placed them with their father. The division caseworker told investigators that Brimhall "has made dangerous comments in the past such as, 'If I can't have my girls, I will drive off a cliff with them in the car,'" according to charging documents.
South Jordan police said Brimhall has some mental health issues and is not allowed to have the girls without supervised visitation.
On Saturday, sometime between 9 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. when the father was in bed due to not feeling well, the girls disappeared, according to the charges. The father "saw bare footprints in the snow walking away from the house" and believed that his ex-wife, Brimhall, had taken the girls and was headed to California.
South Jordan police were contacted and pinged Brimhall's phone, which showed it to be in the San Diego area, according to the charges. An Amber Alert was then issued. On Sunday, the girls were located in San Diego and Brimhall was taken into custody. Police learned that the children were taken from Utah without any coats or shoes, the charges state.
