A 2-year-old boy is back with his mother and his babysitter is in custody after allegedly abducting the child and disappearing with him for several days.
Sitter, child disappear
Clarkesville Police Chief Brad Barrett says the boy’s mother dropped him off with the babysitter in Clarkesville on Thursday, April 19. When she returned to get him on Friday, he and the babysitter were gone. That’s when the mother says she learned that the house where she left her child was not the babysitter’s home. She tried to contact the sitter by phone but couldn’t reach her.
She notified Clarkesville Police the next day.
“At the time of the initial report on Saturday, the mother of the missing child was still unable to make contact with the care provider or her child,” Barrett says.
Chief Barrett says the mother and babysitter were friends and had known each other for about nine months.
Missing child found in Toccoa
Investigators used phone data to try and track the sitter’s location. Information obtained indicated she was possibly in Franklin County, Georgia. On Sunday afternoon she and the child were found in Toccoa. Officials say the toddler appeared to have no physical or visible injuries. He was taken into protective custody by the Toccoa Police Department and later returned to his mother.
“We’re thankful that we were able to locate the child and get the child back into the mother’s custody.” – Clarkesville Police Chief Brad Barrett
The babysitter was taken into custody by Toccoa Police and later transported to the Clarkesville Police Department for further investigation.
Barrett says possible charges are pending.
The case remains open. It’s being investigated by the Clarkesville Police Department, Toccoa Police Department, Rabun County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Family and Child Services, and the Mountain Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
“We’re thankful that we were able to locate the child and get the child back into the mother’s custody,” says Chief Barrett. “We’re also thankful to the surrounding agencies that helped us find the child and are helping with the investigation.”
