A 2-year-old girl reported abducted Wednesday night in North Georgia was found within hours, but her alleged kidnapper remains at large.
The Bartow County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the search had ended Thursday morning, canceling an Amber Alert. The girl was reported safe about 11:50 p.m. Wednesday, two hours after the alert was issued. The man accused of abducting her, 25-year-old Ricky Lee Buttrom, was not found, and authorities are asking for the public’s help in locating him.
The incident began just after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when deputies responded to a home on Aztec Way in Acworth about a domestic call, Bartow Sheriff Clark Millsap said in a news release Thursday. The girl’s mother had been forced by Buttrom to leave the home while her two children remained there, he said.
The woman returned to the home and met the deputies there, but when they entered the house, only the woman’s son remained inside, Millsap said. The daughter and Buttrom were gone, which triggered the Amber Alert just after 9:45 p.m. An Amber Alert is known as a Levi’s Call in Georgia.
The 2-year-old was found and reported safe about two hours later in Paulding County, Millsap said.
Buttrom remains at large and now faces multiple charges, according to Millsap. He is wanted on charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated stalking, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Authorities believe Buttrom may still be driving the car reported in the Amber Alert, a blue 2017 Toyota RAV4 with the Georgia license plate CPF9791.
Anyone with information about Buttrom’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or contact the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office at 770-382-5050, ext. 6030.
