Authorities Searching for Louisiana Couple and 2-Year-Old Child After Child Tested Positive for Cocaine

St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana – St. Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann said that the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help locating a Poydras, Louisiana couple wanted in connection with their child being taken from state custody.

Updated information about this case has been published. Follow this link to read the updated information.

Arianne Stechmann, 37, and Johnathan Kritzman, 31, both of the 2200 block of West Christie Drive in Poydras, Louisiana, are wanted for obstruction of justice.

Sheriff Pohlmann stated that on Monday, January 30, 2023, at approximately 10:56 p.m., members of the Field Operations Bureau responded to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans in reference to a 2-year-old juvenile testing positive for cocaine in his system.

Following the suspected overdose, the juvenile was intubated and admitted to the hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Bureau issued arrest warrants for both Stechmann and Kritzman, the juvenile victim’s parents, after they fled with the child from Children’s Hospital on Thursday, February 2 after the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services was granted emergency custody.

The couple has been seen driving a white Dodge pickup truck.

Anyone with information about Stechmann, Kritzman, or the 2-year-old boy’s whereabouts is asked to contact the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501, the Criminal Investigations Bureau’s tip hotline at (504) 271-TIPS (8477), or Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans at (504) 822-1111. Callers to the CIB tip hotline or Crimestoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.

A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.