Note to bank teller leads to missing kids

A woman's written plea for help given to a Woodland Park bank teller led authorities to three kids, now teens, allegedly abducted by their mother and reported missing in Florida 12 years ago.

On Feb. 13, Carol Vercillo, 64, slipped a note to a teller at Academy Bank in the Woodland Park Wal-Mart that said she was being abused by her son, 37-year-old Jason Vercillo, said Deputy Mikel Baker, Teller County Sheriff's spokeswoman.

Investigating the report, sheriff's deputies from Teller and Park counties determined that Jason Vercillo and his wife, 42-year-old Tonya Vercillo, were living in the Bear Trap area of Park County. Living with them were Tonya Vercillo's three children, who had been taken against court order from Florida by their mother in 1997, according to the Teller County Sheriff's Office.

Kaitlyn Jane Baumgardner, 17, and Brett Michael Baumgardner, 15, were placed in protective custody and are expected to be reunited with their father, Denny Baumgardner, Baker said. Bjorn Baumgardner, 19, was not taken into custody because he is an adult, Baker said.

Jason Vercillo was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault of an at-risk adult, a felony, and false imprisonment. Tonya Vercillo was arrested on suspicion of failure to appear in connection with the custody battle.

Florida court documents say that Tonya Vercillo took the children to Illinois after leaving Florida in 1997. She and Denny Baumgardner attempted a shared custody agreement several years later but Tonya Vercillo did not show up for a hearing and took the children to Colorado, court documents say.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said Brett Baumgardner may have needed medical attention while he was missing.