News
News

Carjacked baby was in road for more than an hour

Ava Wilmer was abandoned by carjackers, left on South Fulton Parkway during Wednesday’s freezing termperatures. Photo courtesy WSB TV
Ava Wilmer was abandoned by carjackers, left on South Fulton Parkway during Wednesday’s freezing termperatures. Photo courtesy WSB TV
By Bo Emerson
Jan 18, 2018

It was a lucky chance that one-month-old Ava Wilmer wasn’t frozen by the wind or crushed by a car as she lay in her car seat on South Fulton Parkway Wednesday night, halfway on the shoulder and halfway in the road.

“It is a miracle that no one hit her,” said Thamara Booker, 41, who saw the car seat in the road, near I-285 around 5:30 p.m. as she was driving to work. Like the other drivers around her, she assumed the car seat was empty.

The infant and her 4-year-old sister Arya Davenport were in the back of an SUV that was stolen from a Quik Trip on Riverdale Road at around 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Ava Wilner recovering in the hospital after being left in subfreezing temperatures. Photo: WSB TV
icon to expand image

Shortly after the search for the children began Arya was discovered walking down a roadway near Riverdale Road by Georgia State University police Chief Joseph Spillane.

To learn more about the little girls' rescue read the full story at MyAJC.com

About the Author

Bo Emerson is an Atlanta native and a long-time AJC feature and news writer.

Follow Bo Emerson on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

A Korean Air plane takes off from Incheon International Airport in South Korea on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. The plane is chartered to bring back Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia. (Yonhap via AP)

Credit: AP

Talks continue over release of detained Korean workers. Departure uncertain.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said the charter flight to transport the workers from Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon had been canceled. But, plans may change.

Veteran 11Alive cops reporter Kevin Rowson has died at age 72

Kevin Rowson, a dogged cops reporter for Atlanta's 11Alive for 22 years before taking a buyout in 2016, died Saturday, according to his wife, Karen.

South Korean nationals detained in Georgia’s Hyundai raid to be released

Only "some administrative procedures remain" before the South Korean nationals arrested Thursday in Georgia will be released, according to a South Korean official.

The Latest

Kent Broussard, an icon, a legend.

Credit: Michael Johnson/AP

Sweet Tea: Strike up the band

AJC VARSITY

High school scoreboard: Friday night’s football action around the state

Pulse Plus: Take things step by step

Featured

A rendering of the columbarium memorial that is estimated to be completed by next summer or fall in the southeast part of Oakland Cemetery, officials said. (Courtesy of Historic Oakland Foundation)

Credit: Historic Oakland Foundation

For the first time in 145 years, you can reserve a spot at Oakland Cemetery

For the first time since 1880, Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta is offering public burial spaces through a new columbarium project near East Hill.

Four decades after her body was found in Cobb woods, she finally has a name

Officials say the death of Veronica Jane Miller is being investigated as a homicide after she was identified through DNA and forensic genetic genealogy.

Ex-Stonecrest mayor who embezzled federal COVID funds is off November ballot

Jason Lary cannot run for Stonecrest City Council or vote, the DeKalb County elections board ruled.