A former high school lacrosse coach from Maryland is accused of conspiring to kidnap a group of children and kill their parents.
Walter Johnson High School’s principal sent a note to the community saying former varsity lacrosse coach Gary Blake Reburn was arrested for his role in an attempted murder and kidnapping in Virginia.
According to federal court documents, Reburn’s girlfriend, Valerie Hayes, claimed three of her children had been kidnapped and were in the custody of two separate Mennonite families in Dayton, Virginia. Hayes contacted a couple from Florida who can’t have children of their own promising that if they helped Hayes kidnap five children all younger than 8, they could keep one of the children as their own. They attempted the kidnapping in July 2018, but it failed.
Frank Amnott is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in the plot to kidnap the children and kill their parents.
Reburn and two alleged co-conspirators fled to the United Kingdom where they are in custody awaiting extradition back to the United States.
“These charges are unrelated to Montgomery County Public Schools students and unrelated to the time he spent as the lacrosse coach,” the principal wrote in the note to the community.
The school newspaper reported Reburn left without explanation.
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“To me he was a very genuine guy,” said Olivia Beach, one of Reburn’s former players. “He seemed very interested in the growth and development of the players, so it’s kind of shocking to hear this story and the development of the situation.”
