Inset: Tracy Zahl (Oklahoma County Jail). Background: Westminster Presbyterian Church Child Care Center in Oklahoma City, where Zahl allegedly attempted to abduct a 2-year-old (Google Maps).
Authorities claim an Oklahoma lawyer attempted to entice a 2-year-old child out of a daycare, later asserting to investigators that she was “sent by God to be with the children.”
Tracy Zahl, 49, is facing a kidnapping charge, as noted in jail records. The incident took place on July 23 at Westminster Presbyterian Church Child Care Center, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime. The document states that Zahl entered the building through an unlocked door and headed downstairs to a classroom.
Once there, Zahl allegedly approached a 2-year-old girl, attempting to lead her away by telling her to “come out of the classroom and follow her.” A teacher noticed the situation, quickly intervened to take the child back from Zahl, and instructed her to leave, then informed the director, the affidavit reports. Zahl then walked around the church and came across children moving in a line. She inserted herself into the group, claiming she was “going with them” when asked by a teacher. Mistaking her for a volunteer, the teacher allowed Zahl to join the children in a classroom where she “sat at a table with several children” until another staff member confronted her, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges that Zahl said she was “sent by God to be with the children” before being asked to leave the premises again. This time, she departed, and a staff member took down part of Zahl’s license plate number, which was given to the police. Through license plate technology, officers found Zahl at her home, located less than a mile from the church. She confessed to having no legitimate reason to be at the daycare, as she has no children or grandchildren there, per a local NBC affiliate KFOR report.
Law enforcement apprehended Zahl, and she was taken to the Oklahoma County Jail, where she remains detained with a bond set at $30,000. Court documents do not list any attorney representing her.
KFOR reported that the Oklahoma Bar Association had previously disciplined Zahl for forging a prescription. She was also arrested in 2021 for reportedly threatening to kill a co-worker.
