Arrest warrant for man accused of kidnapping stepdaughter deemed invalid, judge orders his release

The arrest warrant for the man accused of kidnapping his stepdaughter was deemed invalid, and a judge has ordered his release.

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News Center 7 previously reported that 48-year-old Shane Smith was arrested in Springfield last week following a statewide AMBER Alert involving his stepdaughter, 13-year-old McKenzie Hall.

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Hall was last seen in Franklin County on S. Huron Ave in Columbus around 10:08 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8. The AMBER Alert went out statewide around 4 p.m.

Shortly after the alert was issued, investigators found Smith's truck on Park Layne in western Clark County. Hall was found safe around 6 p.m. in Springfield.

Smith was later located and taken into custody in Springfield. He was being held in Clark County Jail.

In a court order filed on Thursday, Nov. 14, a Judge ordered that Smith be released from jail on account that the arrest warrant filed in Franklin County was invalid.

According to court documents, the box that designated the warrant an arrest warrant was not checked.

Court documents described this as "merely a technicality" but insisted that the original arrest warrant was invalid.

Judge Valerie Wilt with Clark County Municipal Court ordered that Smith be released from Clark County Jail, according to court documents.

"Although the allegations in the Complaint are indeed heinous, if true, the nature of the allegations cannot permit the continued incarceration without a valid warrant," the court documents said.

Columbus police can issue a newly signed and filed arrest warrant to take Smith back into custody.