When Cops Turned Their Backs, She Made a Break for It

Kendra Aney is back in custody after escaping cop car while handcuffed in Muskegon Heights, Mich.
Posted Apr 1, 2026 8:55 AM CDT

An arrest in Muskegon County, Michigan, turned into what NBC News calls a "Houdini-like escape" after a handcuffed woman slipped out of a patrol car and ran off, all while officers stood just feet away. Police in Muskegon Heights say they approached a vehicle parked at an abandoned building on Saturday afternoon and discovered a female passenger had a warrant for a parole violation, per the Detroit News. The suspect was cuffed and placed in the back of a cruiser as officers searched that vehicle. A bystander's video, later posted by Block Paper Weekly, shows the woman slowly squeezing through a partially open rear window, then dropping to the ground and sprinting out of frame as the person filming urges her to run.

Moments later, officers return to the cruiser to find her gone and begin searching the area. The video of her escape soon went viral, with online commenters fascinated on how she was able to maneuver her way out of the cop car. "Can we go back and look at how little that window was open that she wiggled out of?! That was actually impressive," one commenter noted, per the Detroit News. "Just the dismount alone was crazy," another proclaimed. Authorities say the woman, IDed as 38-year-old Kendra Aney, was recaptured and arrested on Tuesday, per the AP.

A local break-in later Saturday is now being attributed to Aney as well, and she's been charged with felony third-degree home invasion for that; she wasn't hit with a misdemeanor escape charge, however. She has past convictions for larceny and attempted larceny and had been out on parole after serving time for the delivery/manufacturing of a controlled substance. She was listed as a parole absconder in January by the state's Department of Corrections. Meanwhile, a woman who says she used to be Aney's cellmate credits Aney's contortionist escape to her stretching skills. "She was laid back, always doing yoga, so I see how she got up out that car," the woman tells WZZM. "That was smooth, that was a smart move, Kendra."

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