Police in Columbus, Ohio, released images of a suspect who allegedly stole a 2010 Honda Accord Tuesday night while twin 5-month-old boys were still in the backseat.
One of the boys was found at Dayton International Airport and is safe, but his brother, Kasson Thomas, remains missing.
“An around-the-clock search continues for Kasson Thomas, a five-month-old boy who was taken overnight while in the backseat of his mother’s vehicle, which was stolen from a Donatos in the Short North,” Columbus police said in a statement on Facebook.
The boy’s mom was filling a DoorDash order when the suspect, whom police identified as Nalah Jackson, left the restaurant and allegedly stole the car around 9:45 p.m.
“The suspect, Nalah Jackson, was then later captured on surveillance video at a gas station in Huber Heights, where she asked an employee for money while driving the stolen 2010 Honda Accord,” the police said.
It’s about 64 miles, or about a one-hour drive, between Short North, Ohio, and Huber Heights, Ohio.
Police said in their most recent statement Wednesday afternoon that law enforcement agencies throughout Ohio are working closely with the Columbus Division of Police to find the baby.
BOLO – be on the lookout – alerts were issued to five adjoining states for the suspect and the stolen car.
GROUP SPOTTED WALKING IN BACKGROUND OF BODYCAM VIDEO TAKEN NEAR CRIME SCENE AT 3 A.M.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant admitted during Tuesday’s press conference that “there was a lapse of communication from an executive level” that delayed the amber alert, which is “being addressed internally.”
Bryant said requests to the Ohio State Highway Patrol starting at 11:45 p.m. were made for an amber alert.
Nearly two hours later – at 1:37 a.m. – the amber alert was issued, Bryant said.
Police have asked anyone who knows the whereabouts of Kasson or has seen the stolen vehicle or the suspect to immediately call 911 or the Columbus Division of Police Special Victims Bureau at 614-645-4266.
