Search under way for toddler missing from day care, [FOUND SAFE]

[Faith]

April 11, 2008, 5:01PM
Search under way for toddler missing from day care

Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Authorities are searching for a missing 18-month-old girl who was last seen at a southwest Houston day care.

Police were called to 8133 Beech Cove Lane about 3:30 p.m. and are using canine units and helicopters to search the area near Beechnut for the child, said Houston Police spokesman John Cannon.

"She may have last been seen with two women, or a woman and a man — right now the information is very preliminary. We're checking various addresses and working to determine if the child was taken against her will," said Cannon.

An Amber Alert has not yet been issued, he added.

"We're not calling it a kidnapping yet; there are a number of possibilities," Cannon said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5694288.html

[Faith]

<snip> I pray this is correct information, I cannot confirm yet.

dincypress wrote:
They found the baby safe about 20 minutes ago. They arrested the 'kidnapper' at the Hillcroft transit center.
4/11/2008 5:51:37 PM

[Faith]

http://www.click2houston.com/2008/0411/15860591_320X240.jpg

HOUSTON -- Police searched for a 21-month-old girl who was taken from a southwest Houston day care Friday afternoon by a woman who worked there for one day, officials told KPRC Local 2.

Investigators said Jakalia Brantley was taken from Mothercare Day Care, located at 8133 Beech Cove near Beechnut, at about 3:30 p.m.

Officials said they believe a woman working at the day care as a trainee took the girl. It was the woman's first day on the job

The trainee apparently left with Jakalia when the full-time day care employee went to the restroom, according to authorities.

Officers searched the neighborhood with bloodhounds.

The girl's mother pleaded for the girl's return on KPRC Local 2.

"If anybody has seen my little girl, please call," the mother said. "It's not family related because all the family is here (at the day care). I don't know."

Officials said they received a tip that the woman and Jakalia were spotted at the METRO Transit Center waiting for a bus. However, it was a case of mistaken identity.

"I'm devastated because I thought it was her. I'm at a loss for words," an unidentified family member said.

The mother fainted when she realized that her daughter had not been found.

The girl's father was detained when tempers flared at the day care after the owner tried to leave the scene. He was not charged but kept in the back of a police car.

For more information on this breaking story, stay tuned to KPRC Local 2 and Click2Houston.com.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/15860520/detail.html

[Faith]

Jakalia Brantley is the baby's name, 21 months old.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b315/FaithMS/Help%20Find%20The%20Missing/mom.jpg Watch the video of the mothers plea (http://www.click2houston.com/video/15860737/index.html)

[Faith]

Police: Day Care Trainee Takes Toddler

HOUSTON - Police searched for a 21-month-old girl who was taken from a southwest Houston day care Friday afternoon by a woman who worked there, KPRC Local 2 reported. Investigators said the child was taken from Mother Daycare, located at 8133 Beech Cove near Beechnut, at about 3:30 p.m.

Officials said they believe a woman working at the day care as a trainee may have taken the girl, identified as Jakalia Brantley. It was the woman's first day on the job.

The trainee apparently left with Jakalia when the certified day care employee went to the restroom, according to authorities.

Officers are searching the neighborhood with bloodhounds.

For more information on this breaking story, stay tuned to KPRC Local 2 and Click2Houston.com.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24073541/

[Tracian]

Have they issued the Amber Alert yet?

[Faith]

Toddler abducted from Houston day care

06:56 PM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008

HOUSTON -- Drama unfolded in Southwest Houston Friday as police searched for a woman and the toddler she abducted from a day care.

The little girl, 21-month-old K.K. Thacker, was taken from the Mother Care Day Care in the 8100 block of Beech Cove near Beechnut around 3:30 p.m.

Relatives say K.K. has a medium complexion and was wearing a pink t-shirt and khaki shorts.

Police believe the abductor has lived at the Star of Hope women's shelter on Dowling in the past, and may be on medication. She is described only as a black woman believed to be in her 20s.

Investigators say the woman had recently been hired at the day care and was working as a trainee. When another day care employee went to the restroom, the trainee left with the toddler, according to officers.

"I go to work entrusting that she's going to be OK with day care," Shamika Thacker, the toddler's shaken mother told 11 News. "If anybody out there has this baby, please return her."

Other frantic family members also rushed to the scene when they heard the child was missing.

At one point, there was an emotional confrontation between the relatives and the day care owner. When she tried to leave the day care, the child's family members tried to pull her from her van.

Little K.K.'s father was briefly handcuffed.

Another dramatic scene unfolded when police thought they had found the missing child and her abductor at a Metro transit center.


Little K.K.'s mother was rushed to the scene in an HPD patrol car to confirm it was her daughter. She fell to her knees, then collapsed when she realized police had the wrong child.

The mother of the other child was quickly released. "Thank you, Jesus, thank you!" she shouted as she walked away after being handcuffed and detained at the transit center. "I hope she find her baby cause I understand, but thank you Jesus."

Police sent K-9 units to the scene to help with the search. One bloodhound tracked the child's scent to a Metro bus station so all Metro drivers have been put on alert.

11 News reporter Jeremy Desel has run a check on the day care and found it has been cited for not properly checking employees' backgrounds.


http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/M_IMAGE.118eaf352b3.93.88.fa.d0.549a0702.jpg
The mother of the abducted child is seen here in the green shirt.


http://www.khou.com/sharedcontent/newslink/thumbnail/khou/0815/abductionmomfaints_7808-t240.jpg VIDEO (http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080411_mh_daycareabduction.54623bed.html?npc)

Raw video: Victim's mom collapses at transit station



http://www.khou.com (http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080411_mh_daycareabduction.54623bed.html?npc)

[Faith]

Have they issued the Amber Alert yet?

Not that I have seen. I am praying this baby is found safe.

[Tracian]

Not that I have seen. I am praying this baby is found safe.

Oh for goodness sake!!!! What are they waiting for?????

[Faith]

Oh for goodness sake!!!! What are they waiting for?????

Good Question!! :sad0119: Maybe they have her and we haven't heard yet.

[Faith]

Police: Day Care Trainee Takes Toddler


UPDATED: 7:07 pm CDT April 11, 2008


HOUSTON -- Police: Day Care Trainee Takes Toddler NEW IN RED

HOUSTON CHANNEL ONLY SITE KEY HOU

Police searched for a 21-month-old girl who was taken from a southwest Houston day care Friday afternoon by a woman who worked there for one day, officials told KPRC Local 2.

Investigators said Jakalia Brantley was taken from Mothercare Day Care, located at 8133 Beech Cove near Beechnut, at about 3:30 p.m.

Officials said they believe a woman working at the day care as a trainee took the girl. It was the woman's first day on the job.

The trainee apparently left with Jakalia when the full-time day care employee went to the restroom, according to authorities.

Officers searched the neighborhood with bloodhounds.

The girl's mother pleaded for the girl's return on KPRC Local 2.

"If anybody has seen my little girl, please call," Shamaika Thacker said. "It's not family related because all the family is here (at the day care). I don't know."

Officials said they received a tip that the woman and Jakalia were spotted at the METRO Transit Center waiting for a bus. However, it was a case of mistaken identity.

"I'm devastated because I thought it was her. I'm at a loss for words," an aunt said.

The mother fainted when she realized that her daughter had not been found.

The girl's father was detained when tempers flared at the day care after the owner tried to leave the scene. He was not charged but kept in the back of a police car.

Officials did not issue an Amber Alert in the case, which is being considered a missing child and not a kidnapping.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/15860520/detail.html

[Faith]

I personally consider it a kidnapping!!!!!! The woman took the child from the daycare for God's sake!

[Faith]

Breaking News: Abducted toddler found safe

07:48 PM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008

HOUSTON -- Police say they have found a 2-year-old girl who was abducted from a day care center Friday afternoon. The toddler was found in southwest Houston.

Police have taken a woman who had the child into custody.

More details to come as the become available.

The drama unfolded in Southwest Houston as police searched for a woman and the toddler she abducted from a day care.

Source (http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080411_mh_daycareabduction.54623bed.html)




:hifive:

[TigressPen]

Breaking News: Abducted toddler found safe

07:48 PM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008

HOUSTON -- Police say they have found a 2-year-old girl who was abducted from a day care center Friday afternoon. The toddler was found in southwest Houston.

Police have taken a woman who had the child into custody.

More details to come as the become available.

The drama unfolded in Southwest Houston as police searched for a woman and the toddler she abducted from a day care.

Source (http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080411_mh_daycareabduction.54623bed.html)




:hifive:



I hope it is the right child this time. :1222423:

[Tracian]

Err on the side of saving a life....I hope they did, but the ticker has not changed yet.

[Tracian]

I hope it is the right child this time. :1222423:


Oh I hope so!!!

Prayers for the child and the mother!!!:1222423:

[Faith]

Surly they have the right child.. I did read where a toddler went in a TX daycare and was wondering around.

Link (http://www.teachersmackdown.com/five-year-old-leaves-stoneway-private-schools-daycare-and-get-hits-by-truck/)

[Faith]

Missing Toddler Reunited with Mother, Father
Suspect In Custody in Case of Girl Taken from Day Care
Last Edited: Friday, 11 Apr 2008, 9:18 PM CDT
Created: Friday, 11 Apr 2008, 4:38 PM CDT

HOUSTON -- A woman who police believe took a toddler from a southwest Houston day care Friday afternoon was taken into custody moments before the missing girl was reunited with her mother.

Workers at the Mothercare Day Care, located at 8133 Beechcove Drive near Beechnut Street, reported 21-month-old Jakaila Brantley missing at about 3:30 p.m.

Shortly before 8 p.m., police said a woman found inside a southwest Houston apartment with a baby believed to be Jakaila was taken into custody for questioning.

Emergency medical service workers were called to the apartment to examine the baby found inside the apartment. They then transported the baby to the day care center, where the Jakaila's mother identified the girl as her daughter.

At 5:30 p.m., police thought Jakaila had been found at the METRO Hillcroft Transit Center. However, when Jakaila's mother showed up at the transit center to be reunited with her daughter, she told authorities the girl was not Jakaila.

Investigators have not said how the girl came up missing but witnesses at the day care told FOX 26 News that an employee possibly left the facility with Jakaila.

According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the Mothercare Day Care has been in violation of Texas child care licensing regulations more than 20 times between July 2006 and February 2008. Some of the violations include lack of liability insurance and current background checks on employees.

Officers with the Houston Police Department and a bloodhound from the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Department were involved in the search and investigation into Jakaila's disappearance.

An Amber Alert was not issued in this case.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com (http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6284500&version=12&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1)

[Faith]

Daycare kidnapping suspect in court

01:40 PM CDT on Monday, April 14, 2008

KHOU.com staff report and Wendell Edwards / 11 News

Click to watch video


Click to watch video (http://www.khou.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=235745)

HOUSTON -- A judge raised the bond for a woman suspected of kidnapping a 1-year-old from a daycare to $50,000 on Monday.

CPS investigators were also at the day care where a child was abducted.

Meanwhile, Raeshala Raylette Morris, 21, is charged with kidnapping. She worked for the Mother Care Daycare facility for about two weeks before being accused of taking Jakaila Brantley from the center Friday afternoon.

Morris and the 1-year-old, who was unharmed, were found in the 9901 block of Club Creek.

Morris' attorney, Jim Leitner, requested and was granted a mental health evaluation for his client.

Prosecutors say Morris knew what she was doing was wrong.

“She tried to hide evidence,” said Beth Shipley who is prosecuting the case.

Her defense attorney’s still got permission for his client to undergo a mental evaluation. “I know enough about her to know that’s what I’m going to be looking into now.”

From her family’s perspective, Shayla, as they call her, is not a criminal. They say she’s just in need of psychiatric help.

“She needs help. The pen or penitentiary is not going to help her,” said Chareckas Cleaver. She’s Morris’ cousin.

Children's Protective Services said a state agency had taken Morris' own child from her three months ago. She had been recently living in a homeless shelter.

The daycare center has been cited in the past for not properly running employee background checks.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/M_IMAGE.118eaf352b3.93.88.fa.d0.62d865e3.jpg
Shemika Thacker-Brantley, the girl's mother, wants the daycare held accountable.

“It was the worst day and best day of my life, all wrapped up into one,” Thacker-Brantley said.

Brantley’s family said they believe Morris was trying to pass the little girl off as a boy, changing her outfit and rearranging her hair in a more masculine style.

“I didn’t even want them to sleep by themselves,” Thacker-Brantley said. “I’m just happy and relieved that she’s back with us, that she’s safe. That nothing is wrong with her, and she’s OK.”

Source (http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080414_ac_kidnappingfolo.629046fe.html)

[Faith]

Get the tissues when you watch the video-

[Nut44x4]

The Houston Chronicle (Texas)
April 16, 2008 Wednesday

Parents want answers after no Amber Alert for toddler: Houston police say time was lost after a mistaken sighting

Jennifer Latson, Houston Chronicle


Apr. 16--The Houston Police Department failed to issue an Amber Alert for a toddler kidnapped last week from a southwest Houston day care center because of a case of mistaken identity, authorities said Tuesday.

Police said a bad lead brought them to a Metro bus station in search of 21-month-old Jakaila Brantley and the day care worker who took her, only to find it was a mother and her daughter who resembled them.

The misstep cost investigators two hours and held up the Amber Alert that would have been broadcast on highway signs, TV and radio stations, police said.

In addition to the bus mix-up, police officials said they also wanted to make sure the kidnapping was real.

Such excuses have done little in recent days to comfort Jakaila's parents, however, who believe police bungled the case from the start. Finding the child was more a matter of luck than it was the result of the police investigation, they said.

Staff at Mothercare Day Care called police at 3:30 p.m. Friday to report the child missing. When she was found shortly after 8 p.m., an Amber Alert had yet to be broadcast.

"The police told me they had to make sure she didn't leave under her own will," said Jakaila's mother, Shemika Thacker-Brantley. "She's 21 months old. How is she supposed to leave under her own will?"

Houston police spokesman Victor Senties defended the time lapse, saying the officers working the case were following department protocol and Amber Alert policy.

Officers went to the day care center at 3:30 p.m. to verify the reported abduction and make sure she hadn't been picked up by relatives, Senties said.

At 4:30 p.m., those officers called in the homicide division, which handles abductions in which the victim could be in danger. That call prompted dozens of officers to canvass the area around the day care. Police also used bloodhounds to follow the girl's scent and helicopters to search from above, Senties said.

'We have the child'

But the false lead stopped the investigation in its tracks at 5:10 p.m., he said.

"Metro PD (the agency that handles safety on Metro buses) thought they found the girl," Senties said. "Keep in mind that when somebody calls in and says, 'We have the child,' we have to get everybody over there and get the child ID'd. When we found out it was bad information, we had to regroup and go out again."

Metro spokeswoman Rosio Torres said the information came from the Houston Police Department, not the transit authority's own police.

"That was an HPD lead, that somebody matching that description had boarded a bus, so they stopped the bus at the Hillcroft Transit Center," she said.

Senties said officers faxed the Amber Alert information to the Texas Department of Public Safety at 7:10 p.m., but it still hadn't been broadcast when the sister of the accused abductor called police to say she had spotted the pair in her neighborhood around 8 p.m. Jakaila was found unharmed with the day care worker, 21-year-old Raeshala Morris.

Some advocates for missing children say the more than four-hour lag after the report was filed defeats the purpose of the Amber Alert program, which was meant to bring immediate, widespread publicity to child abductions. It was created in 1996 after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped and killed in Arlington.

"It should be activated as quickly as is humanly possible," said Marc Klaas, founder of Beyond Missing, a California nonprofit that gives police an online template to distribute Amber Alert fliers. "It sounds like they followed some protocol or other. It just sounds like there were missteps."

Klaas' 12-year-old daughter was kidnapped and killed in 1993.

"I lost my child in a situation where an Amber Alert could have helped, so I don't have time for anybody's nonsense."

Statewide alerts slower

Records of the most recent Amber Alerts issued in Houston show a variety of time lags between the last time the child was seen and the time the alert was issued -- some as short as an hour, some as long as a day.

The coordinator for Amber Alerts in the 13 counties surrounding Houston said she didn't know a child was missing Friday until she saw it on the 10 p.m. news.

Beth Alberts said Houston police usually call her to issue a regional alert, but on Friday they sent the information to the statewide network. "For our network, it takes five to seven minutes to activate the alert," Alberts said. "The state has to be more selective about issuing an alert because it goes further."

Houston police have issued about half of the 78 Amber Alerts for the regional network since it was founded in 2001, Alberts said.

Bob Smither, founder of the Friendswood-based Laura Recovery Center, believes the police did the best they could.

"Every case is different," said Smither, whose daughter was kidnapped and killed in 1997. "Certainly on the surface you'd think, given the age of the child and everything, it would have been issued. But it's important that they follow the (Amber Alert) criteria."
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:776700558&start=3

[Roamer]

I certainly can't blame the parents on this one. Following leads should not hold up the Amber Alert, because those leads could be dead ends and someone could leave the county or the state.

[Faith]

April 29, 2008, 11:43PM
Abducted girl's mom seeks $1 billion from Houston day care


The mother of a toddler who was abducted from a day care center by an employee of the business has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 billion in damages.

Mothercare Day Care was negligent in failing to perform a background check on Raeshala Morris, 21, an employee who is schizophrenic, was homeless at the time and had a record of child neglect, Shemika Thacker contends in her lawsuit, filed Monday.

Morris is accused of abducting 21-month-old Ja'Kaila Brantley on April 11. The child was found, unharmed, with Morris about four hours after being reported missing.

Thacker is suing the day care and its owner, Rita Obodoechina.

Taft Foley, Thacker's lawyer, said he was seeking $1 billion because "I was placed in the difficult predicament of trying to place a value on a mother's love for a child. And a mother's love for a child is more valuable than diamonds or gold."

A hefty award for damages, he said, would deter other day cares from similar negligence.

"The message needs to be sent loud and clear that individuals with psychiatric difficulties and a history of child neglect cannot be hired at these facilities," he said.

Morris is charged with kidnapping. In a jailhouse interview with the Houston Chronicle earlier this month, she said that the toddler is the reincarnation of a daughter of hers from a previous life.

Child Protective Services shut down the center on April 21, saying investigators had found problems that put children in danger.

A woman who answered the phone at Mothercare Day Care on Tuesday didn't comment.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5739848.html

[annalyzer]

Woman Convicted In Day Care Kidnapping Wanted

POSTED: Thursday, November 13, 2008
UPDATED: 7:18 am CST November 13, 2008

http://www.click2houston.com/2008/0414/15876587_240X180.jpg
Raeshala Raylette Morris

HOUSTON -- A day care employee who kidnapped a toddler is now a fugitive, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

Raeshala Morris was supposed to report to a halfway house last week, but she never showed up, police said.

A warrant has been issued for her arrest.

In April, Morris was sentenced to eight years probation after she was convicted of kidnapping 21-month-old Jakalia "K.K." Brantley from a southwest Houston day care center where Morris was employed.

Police said Morris, who they describe as mentally unstable, took the job at the day care for the sole purpose of taking a child.

Morris' family said she has a history of schizophrenia.

Anyone with information about Morris' whereabouts is asked to call their local law enforcement agency.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/17970894/detail.html