CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (TCD) — Officials are searching for a couple accused of kidnapping their own newborn who was found safe this week.
On Feb. 26, at around 6:43 p.m., the Chapel Hill Police Department issued an Amber Alert for a missing baby, Jaxton Brown, who was born on Feb. 18. He was last seen on Friday, Feb. 23. at the Red Roof Inn on Fordham Boulevard.
Police suspected the baby was with his parents, 29-year-old Justin Brown and 26-year-old Destinee Cothran, in a white 1997 Mercury Mystique. According to WRAL-TV, Brown and Cothran allegedly kidnapped their baby after the Department of Social Services (DSS) threatened to intervene.
Days after the infant’s birth, someone reported concern for Brown’s wellbeing and told 911 dispatch Cothran and Brown had active warrants. The reporting party, believed to be a DSS worker, told officials the couple was driving toward Chapel Hill Pediatrics on Sage Road.
Child protective services asked police to help them find Brown after they had issued a court order for custody of the baby, WRAL reports.
The Mercury Mystique was reportedly found at a Big Lots in Durham, North Carolina, with food, clothing, a car seat base, and baby blankets inside.
On Monday, Feb. 26, at around 8:45 p.m., police posted an update, stating Brown was found safe. According to WRAL, the baby was in his car seat.
Cothran and Brown reportedly handed the baby to police and then fled into a wooded area nearby. Police continued to look for the pair.
No charges have been filed against Brown and Cothran in connection with the Amber Alert. The outstanding warrants are not based in Chapel Hill, WRAL reports.
Both parents reportedly have previous drug charges and convictions. Additionally, Cothran reportedly had a civil summons served on Feb. 14 from the Orange County Department of Social Services for allegedly failing to properly care for her three other children, ages 3, 5, and 6 years old.
Brown was previously convicted of multiple DWI charges, and he was also charged with allegedly assaulting a past girlfriend in 2015.
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