Georgia state troopers put an alleged kidnapper behind bars after pulling him over on Interstate 85 in Franklin County.
Around 1:40 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, troopers from Post 52 in Hartwell stopped a northbound vehicle around mile marker 172 near Carnesville. The vehicle was tied to a kidnapping case involving two small children, and Atlanta police had issued an alert for the vehicle two hours earlier.
“Troopers on scene immediately detained the driver and recovered the children,” says Sgt. J.R. Dean of Post 52.
He says the two-year-old female and four-year-old male were found in the backseat of the vehicle.
The suspect, 25-year-old Dontrell Obrian Johnson of Union City, Georgia, is believed to be the children’s father. He allegedly kidnapped them from a location in west Atlanta around 11:06 a.m.
Investigators with the Atlanta Police Department’s Special Victims Unit investigated the kidnapping and identified Johnson as the suspect.
After troopers arrested him, Johnson was transported to the Franklin County Jail. Authorities transported the children to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office to be returned to their mother.
“The two children were found safe and unharmed and were reunited with their mother,” says APD Public Information Officer John Pridemore.
Johnson faces two kidnapping charges. Pridemore says the investigation continues.
