A DeKalb County mother frantically pleaded Thursday for the return of her 2-year-old son, her only child, after she was told he’d been kidnapped at gunpoint.
For hours, DeKalb police investigators worked to untangle the details of what happened to J’Asiah Mitchell but ultimately came to the conclusion that there was, in fact, no kidnapping. The boy’s father, 23-year-old Artavious North, was arrested before the day ended on charges of falsely reporting a crime and making false statements.
The toddler still had not been found as of late Friday afternoon, but his mother, Asia Mitchell, was determined not to lose hope.
“Put your walking shoes on,” she wrote in a public Facebook post Friday. “We are walking miles to find my baby. Forget the rest and be at my house … to join me and my family to head up the road and find my baby.”
The investigation is now in the hands of the East Point Police Department. That is where the boy was spending the night Wednesday with his father at The Elite at Lakeview apartments, officials said.
Authorities on Friday afternoon began draining a pond on the property, which is tucked between I-285 and Camp Creek Parkway, just off Washington Road. Police spokesperson Ischa Njoku told Channel 2 Action News that detectives were working to obtain surveillance footage and pass out flyers at the complex.
“At this time, East Point police detectives are actively searching for the missing 2-year-old. We are following all leads as it pertains to this case,” the department said.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Early Thursday, Asia Mitchell told Channel 2 that North called her to say their son had been taken during an armed robbery. He said he was at a stop sign in the Panthersville area, near the intersection of Flat Shoals and Lloyd roads, when he was approached by gunmen just before midnight Wednesday
“A car pulled out in front of him at gunpoint and took my baby because they couldn’t take anything from him — that’s the story that he ... (is) telling me,” the mother said.
DeKalb police sought the public’s help in searching for little J’Asiah, but they quickly identified holes in North’s story.
The agency said it had contacted the GBI about releasing an Amber Alert, known as a Levi’s Call in Georgia, but was told “this incident did not meet the criteria.” According to the GBI, the criteria for issuing an Amber Alert involves “reasonable belief” that an abduction occurred, and “enough descriptive information” of the victim and abductor.
Investigators eventually came to the conclusion that there was “no armed robbery nor kidnapping in DeKalb County,” a police spokesperson said late Thursday.
Neither DeKalb nor East Point investigators made public any information about what may have happened to J’Asiah as the search entered the second day.
“I’ve been up crying, worrying. I’ve been praying,” Asia Mitchell told Channel 2 on Thursday.
“He’s only 2. He doesn’t know what’s going on, just like I don’t know what’s going on. I’m just as confused as he is, and he’s probably as scared as I am.”
Anyone who has seen the boy is asked to call 911 or East Point police at 404-559-6200. He was last seen wearing Buzz Lightyear pajamas.
