Lauren Burns was dressed in a cheerleader costume for Halloween weekend in 1987 when she climbed into her father's car.But instead of taking her trick-or-treating, he drove the 7-year-old to the airport and flew her thousands of miles from her Dallas home.Ali Bayan assured the little girl that the trip to his home country of Jordan was a "surprise" — and that her mother, Cathy Mahone, knew all about it.
But as days turned into weeks and her father refused to let her speak to her mother, Burns began to realize she might never return home."I didn't think I would ever see my mother again," Burns recalled to Fox News Digital.MIRANDA LAMBERT, CARRIE UNDERWOOD 'SHOULD GET A RIBBON' FOR SURVIVING COUNTRY MUSIC IN MALE-DOMINATED ERAMiranda Lambert's (left) childhood friend, Lauren Burns (right), has written a memoir about her abduction and miraculous rescue.(Courtesy of Lauren Burns)Burns recounts the abduction and the international rescue mission it sparked in her memoir, "Stolen." Her childhood friend, country music superstar Miranda Lambert — whose family played a crucial role in bringing Burns home — wrote the foreword.Fox News Digital reached out to Lambert for comment.Miranda Lambert performs onstage during the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, on May 17, 2026.
(Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for ACM)"By the time I was six weeks old, my parents got divorced," Burns said.WATCH: MIRANDA LAMBERT'S FRIEND RECALLS BEING KIDNAPPED BY FATHER AT AGE 7"All I ever knew was that kind of upbringing.I went between two homes.
My mother had full custody of me when I was six weeks old, but she did not want to keep me from my father.He was a good dad.
He was loving and kind.I saw him almost every other weekend or maybe extra if she needed help.
They had a good relationship despite the reasons that they had gotten divorced."During the drive to the airport, Burns wondered why her stepmother and siblings weren't coming along.Cathy Mahone an...