this appears to be a stranger abduction. why would some guy take 2 toddlers?

AJC
A "Levi's Call," Georgia's official AMBER Alert, was issued late Wednesday morning, making the hunt for the missing 3-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl, and the man believed to have taken them, a national search.

The mother of the children told police that her vehicle broke down on I-20 eastbound near Wesley Chapel Road before 2 a.m., and the suspect, who the mother did not know, stopped to assist her, according to DeKalb police spokesman Lloyd Ruffin.

"The mother reported that as she made arrangements to have her vehicle towed from the roadway, the suspect drove away with her children," Ruffin said.

The children were identified as Jalen Mattison, 3, and Amari Mattison, 1.

The suspect is a black male, about 6 feet tall, with a thin build and wearing a light brown or tan baseball cap. He is believed to be driving a 2000-2005 hunter green Jeep Cherokee.

Anyone with information leading to the recovery of the children is asked to call the DeKalb County Police at 770-724-7850, or send an email to the GBI at [email protected].

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - Authorities are searching for two children who were reported kidnapped after a stranger offered to help the family when their car broke down on the side of an Atlanta-area interstate.

The family's car broke down early Wednesday and a stranger stopped to help, according to a statement by the DeKalb County police. As the mother was making arrangements for a tow truck, the stranger drove off with the children in a 2000 to 2005 green Jeep Cherokee, police said.

Georgia authorities issued a statewide child abduction alert for 3-year-old Jalen Mattison and 1-year-old Amari Mattison. A police spokeswoman said she did not have the mother's name, adding the mother was with detectives.

Police said the mother does not know the suspect. The family was driving a 1996 silver Volvo.

The GBI has joined the search for two toddlers kidnapped from their mother early Wednesday morning in DeKalb County.

I don't see any other info on this yet, not sure why Mom was travelling with two young children at 2am either, regardless I hope they are found unharmed and also that it's not another made up abduction story like all the others lately - Sky, Aliayah, Lisa, Ayla, Amir, Bianca......


DECATUR, Ga., (WXIA) -- A Levi's Call has been issued for two young children police said had been kidnapped in DeKalb County early Wednesday.

Three-year-old Jalen Mattison and his sister, 1-year-old Amari Mattison, were last seen with a man at 2645 Wesley Chapel Road. The children's mom said she was assisted by the man after her car broke down on I-20 eastbound at about 2 a.m., Wednesday.

She said that as she made arrangements to have her car towed, the suspect drove away with her children. Police said she does not know the suspect.

DeKalb Police said the suspect is a black male, about 6 feet tall with a thin build and in his 30s. He was last seen wearing a light brown or tan baseball cap. He was driving a 2000-to-2005 model hunter green Jeep Cherokee.

The Levi's Call says Jalen is a black male, 3-feet tall wtih brown eyes and brown hair; Amari is described as a black female, with brown hair and eyes.

Anyone with any information about this case is asked to call 911 immediately.

I don't want to think badly of anyone, but why were the kids in this strangers vehicle instead of in their own until it was time to leave? I would never put my kids in someone elses car unless I was ready to go. It sounds fishy to me.

"A detective source told 11Alive's Paul Crawley that Ashley Mattison had no fixed address, and had been living from hotel to hotel with the children."

Hummm....

This story seems like bullshit. Sounds like a combination plate of other not-so-believable stories of moms whose children were allegedly abducted roadside: Susan Smith + Julia Biryukova + Dianne Downs. I hope this story turns out to actually be true and has a better ending.

This is all that's been said so far....


DECATUR, Ga. (WXIA) -- Police sources tell 11Alive News the missing children have been found safe.

(02-22-2012, 02:49 PM)Jezreel Wrote: This is all that's been said so far....


DECATUR, Ga. (WXIA) -- Police sources tell 11Alive News the missing children have been found safe.

Awesome news! Anxious to hear more details...

(02-22-2012, 02:57 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote:

(02-22-2012, 02:49 PM)Jezreel Wrote: This is all that's been said so far....


DECATUR, Ga. (WXIA) -- Police sources tell 11Alive News the missing children have been found safe.

Awesome news! Anxious to hear more details...

Me too, doesn't look as though they are releasing any other info right now either.

This is the only other statement I can find right now:

AJC - Two toddlers reported kidnapped early Wednesday morning have been found safe, authorities said.

Details are not available about where and how Jalen Mattison, 3, and Amari Mattison, 1, were located, nearly 12 hours after they had been taken from their mother in DeKalb County.

"They're safe," GBI spokesman John Bankhead told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

this story does not pass the smell test.

there is some reason the police won't say where they were found and whether the 'kidnapper' was in custody.

the area where her car broke down is known for drugs and prostitution. what was she doing there at 0200 with 2 kids??

a little more from AJC

The man said to have taken toddlers from their mother early Wednesday morning quickly dropped them off with friends to “babysit,” police said.

Two women keeping the children for the man believed he had rightful custody and that they were doing him a favor, DeKalb County police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said.

“According to these women, they were friends only … they only knew his nickname,” Parish said. “The women only found out the kids were kidnapped late this morning from watching news reports.”

Around 1 p.m., the women took the children to the DeKalb County Magistrate Court and turned them over to police officers there.

So, he kidnapped them, then left them with 2 women and never asked for money or anything. He's either the most retarded kidnapper around or theres way more to this than anyone is saying.

(02-22-2012, 05:20 PM)LuciferLynn Wrote: So, he kidnapped them, then left them with 2 women and never asked for money or anything. He's either the most retarded kidnapper around or theres way more to this than anyone is saying.

I'm bettin' that both of your hunches are correct.

Just glad that the kids are safe.

probably one of her johns.

still at large.

the state Department of Family and Children Services has been called in to investigate, because “some information surfaced as our officers looked into this about the care of the children.

suspect

mom stinks. fishy fishy.


Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Police said Thursday they will not charge a Stone Mountain man who took two toddlers from a woman whose car had broken down on I-20 in DeKalb County.

Charles Watson turned himself in to DeKalb County police around 8 p.m. Wednesday after a statewide manhunt for him and the children that lasted more than 15 hours, police said.

A Levi’s Call, Georgia’s AMBER Alert escalating searches for kidnapped children to a national level, was issued early Wednesday morning. The GBI joined DeKalb police in a large-scale look-out that included, at times, police dogs and helicopters canvassing the area.

In the end, the children were brought unharmed to authorities after women keeping them for Watson saw reports of an apparent kidnapping in the media, police said.

Detectives interviewed Watson and determined he had no criminal intent when he took Jalen Mattison, 3, and Amari Mattison, 1, early Wednesday morning, police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said.

“It had a happy ending,” police Chief William O’Brien told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier.

The incident began some time before 2 a.m. when the children’s mother, Ashely Mattison, pulled over to the I-20 on-ramp to Wesley Chapel Road after her car broke down, police said.

Watson, a stranger to the woman, stopped to help. He drove Mattison and her children to a Shell gas station not far from where her car had stalled, she told police.

When Mattison left on foot to meet police and arrange for a wrecker to move her car, Watson waited at the Shell with the children in his SUV, police said.

Parish said Watson waited 30 minutes from the time Mattison left before he drove away. He took the children to the home of some friends to babysit the youngsters. It is unclear where Watson went afterward or if he returned to the gas station to look for the mother.