COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police officers in Indianapolis found the second of two missing 5-month-old twins in an abandoned car that had been stolen three days earlier in Columbus, Ohio, authorities said.
The infant was found Thursday evening, hours after police arrested Nalah Tamiko Jackson, 24, on kidnapping charges, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said.
Police said the baby boy was in good health and checked at a hospital in Indianapolis, which is 175 miles (282 kilometers) west of Columbus.
A woman had spotted the baby inside the missing car in the parking lot of a Papa John’s restaurant in Indianapolis and alerted officers who were eating at another restaurant, authorities said.
Police in Indianapolis said they believe the missing car had been in the parking lot for about two days. The baby was still wearing the same onesie he had on when the car was stolen.
The boy’s father, Lachez Thomas, left Columbus for Indianapolis soon after being told his second son had been found.
The twins’ paternal grandmother, Fonda Thomas, said this will be the best Christmas of her life.
“This means everything,” she said. “My grandsons get to open up they presents simultaneously. Not one alone, wishing that the other one was there. I’m so happy. I’m so grateful.”
An Amber Alert, used to publicize a child’s disappearance, was issued Tuesday after the idling car was taken Monday night while the twins’ mother picked up an order at a pizza restaurant in Columbus.
One of the twin brothers was found hours later in a car carrier seat between two vehicles in a parking lot near Dayton International Airport in Ohio, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) west of Columbus.
Police later named Jackson as a suspect based on information provided by the pizza restaurant’s employees. Court records did not indicate whether Jackson has an attorney yet.
