COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Police Department confirmed to News 5 the missing twin boy from the Amber Alert was found alive and safe near a Papa John's pizza location in Indianapolis on Thursday night and that the woman who allegedly kidnapped him on Monday has been arrested and charged by Indiana authorities.
The baby was transported to a local hospital to be checked out.
The stolen Honda Accord was found and the baby was discovered in the same clothes.
CHILD FOUND SAFE & ALIVE
— Columbus Ohio Police (@ColumbusPolice) December 23, 2022
Kason Thomass was found alive & safe in Indianapolis near a Papa John’s pizza location. The 5-month-old boy is in good health & being transported to a hospital to be checked out. Kason was found in the stolen Honda Accord & wearing the same clothes. pic.twitter.com/hUNd9Gnk3T
Hours before the child was found safe, CPD announced the suspect from the Columbus Amber Alert, Nalah Jackson, had been arrested.
The Columbus Police Department released a statement following the news:
Kason Thomass was found alive and safe tonight in Indianapolis near a Papa John's pizza location.
We are grateful to the public for their help throughout this investigation, and for the tireless work of our officers and our many partner agencies. They never stopped, never gave up hope, and would not rest until Kason was found. We are beyond thankful for their relentless dedication.
The Emergency Operation Center remains open even though Kason has been found. If you have any information that could be helpful with this case, please call our tip line at 614-645-4701.
According to police, Jackson was arrested in Indiana by Indianapolis Police. Authorities said they located her using tips they received from the public about her whereabouts.
Jackson was charged by the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Indiana with battery of bodily waste. According to Indiana state law, it is felony for a person to knowingly or intentionally "in a rude, insolent, or angry manner place blood or another body fluid or waste on a health care professional identified as such and while engaged in the performance of official duties."
News 5 is working to learn what led to this charge.
The kidnapping
According to authorities, the child was taken by Jackson Monday night in Columbus. Columbus Police were joined in the search by the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the FBI.
The child's mother had stopped at Donatos Pizza, 920 N. High St., around 9:45 p.m. She left the car running with her twins inside, Kason and his brother Ky'air, and went in to get a pizza.
Police say Nalah Jackson was inside the restaurant when the mother walked in but left a few moments later. She then got in the mother's car and drove off with the twins still in the vehicle.
The first twin was located the next morning at Dayton International Airport.
The suspect
Jackson has been arrested previously for child endangerment, custody interference, domestic violence, assault and a slew of other charges.
RELATED: Grandmother of boy taken in Amber Alert: 'Not knowing is what's killing my whole family right now'
News 5's interview with the grandmother about the case can be watched below.
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