How can i legally catnap this kitty?

Hi all! Ive never posted here before and this situation is a little complex, so please bear with me and also read in entirety to get the whole story straight.

Location: Indiana

I am a senior in college with my own apartment in the neighborhood right next to campus. My apartment last year was only a few blocks down so I am familiar with the dynamic of the area, that being that there are a decent amount of stray cats. My old nighbor from last year was even a small hub for a colony of strays he supported. When I moved into my current apartment this past August, I quickly became aquainted with an adorable kitty who was so friendly she was clearly not just a stray. With more time on my street I'd meet tons of other kitties who eat from the bowl I leave out, but this one is the only one whod come inside and hang out with me. I made a post on nextdoor asking for more info on her, and turns out shes not a well loved local stray, shes Frankie, someones outside cat that the neighbors are known of since she roams my street. Unfortunately, there are lots and lots of people in this area who are perfectly fine with having their cats roam outside. Whats worse is that this kitty is at my house every day and night, spending sometimes a few nights here. She'll hang for the day, meow at the door to leave, then a few hours later she comes back when its dark and cold to spend the night somewhere loving. Its clear her owners don't take proper care of her and just leave her outside to her own devices. Shes chubby as hell likely from eating off the many locals who leave food out for strays. Even worse? She's declawed.

I posted to my socials about this new friend I made and was surprised when a friend of mind said she recognised her. My friend met this exact cat just a year prior and took her in thinking she was a stray, they named her Malibu (this is what I call the cat so from now on i will be referring to her as such). She was disgusting, skinny, and flea ridden so my friend took her to the vet. There, they discovered shes actually chipped and in fact not a stray. The vet had to call the owner and arrange for her to be returned. My friend met the owner and supposedly the guys a real asshole. Apparently Malibu was a regular inside cat for some time (makes sense based on her temperment and being declawed) but then the guy got a dog who didnt get along with her, so now shes outside. I don't know much besides that, but shes been out on the streets for about a year given this info from my friend.

As the semster progressed, Malibu was at my house every day. I would take her inside (i mean she walks right in like she owns the damn place) and hang with her but she would frequenly get a little antsy and meow at the door to go out. While I dont belive cats should be outside, shes not my cat. She likes to hang on my porch so she'll usually do that, leave for a while and then come back either for the night or the next day. That continued all the way until Thanksgiving. In my head I am thinking of how i can adopt her, do I just straight up take her? Play dumb at the vet and pretend shes a stray and hope they dont check her chip? Get a new chip of my own and somehow deactivate her existing one?idk. So i do a little test, I take her home with my (about 2 hours away) for thanksgiving break (about 5 days) and see if anyone notices shes gone. I mean she has already been spening a few days at a time at my place anyways cause i dont want her out in the cold. So I take her home with me, shes does pretty good in the car, does great at my house, my parents love her and even give their approval for me to take her after I graduate. When I come back with her, no missing signs, no nextdoor posts, nothing. Day after thanksgiving break was a snowstorm, so I didnt see her after i let her out when I got back. I am hoping this means shes somewhere inside warm, but who knows. All I know is I come back, let her outside when she wanted to, she hadnt come back, the next day it snows, and as it transitions to winter she doesnt visit me. A week before finals she comes on a semi warm early winter day (maybe 40's) but its still a little snowy. Unfortunately I saw her at my door as I was leaving to go home for the weekend, so I couldnt let her in. told myself that if she comes frequently enough, that id think about brining her for the month of winter break when it came, but she didnt come again before I left.

Now its the spring semester, and i havent seen her since that day mid December. Its beginning to warm up and on days I swore shed be here, she isnt. Today, I heard the familiar meow at my door and there was my baby Malibu, begging to come in like it was any other day.

Extremely long (i am so sorry) context aside, I want to adopt Malibu for good and get her taken away from her owners who clearly do not care for her properly. According to my local animal control, you legally must provide shelter for your animals from the elements. I know that if I take her to a vet or shelter or even animal control themselves, they'll contact her owner because she is chipped. I am about 99% sure if I get into contact with the owner and basically ask to take her off their hands, they'll say no. Im assuming because my friend met him a while back in the same circumstance and he angrily took Malibu back. I know that if I try to get her chipped myself this will happen too and I dont know if theres anyone who could deactivate/reprogram her chip without contacting the old owner. My main idea is basically reporting her to animal control, with proof shes been at my house for months, and somehow getting her taken away due to neglect. I worry though that this will either not work, or she'll get put into the shelter and then i couldn't guarantee her getting back to me.

So if anyone has any knowledge or advice it would be suuuuper helpful. I love this kitty so much and it breaks my heart knowing her owner doesnt value her nearly as much as i do. Thank you so much for reading this if you did!