A statewide Amber Alert is still in effect after a 5-year-old boy's legal guardian allegedly abducted him and the vehicle police were searching for was found in the Cleveland area.
The husband of Pammy Maye called police in Columbus and said his wife allegedly harmed and abducted the child, Darnell Taylor, Wednesday.
Columbus Police said they believe Darnell may be in danger after speaking with the husband.
A warrant has been issued for Maye for kidnapping and endangering a child, according to Columbus Police.
Authorities re-issued the Amber Alert Thursday morning at about 5:53 a.m., sending the push alert with the same details to mobile phones across the state.
Thursday update
Columbus Police held their second news briefing on the Amber Alert at about 2 p.m. Thursday. They began by playing audio from the 911 call placed before then Amber Alert was issued early Wednesday morning.
Watch the full news conference below:
While the audio is muffled and the words spoken are difficult to decipher, a woman's scream is clearly heard. The caller seems to say repeatedly: "She killed our foster child." He then says his wife left in his car.
"As you heard from the portion of the 911 call that you heard, we have reason to — significant reason to believe that Darnell could be in danger," Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said.
Police then played video from the dash camera of a cruiser responding to the scene. It showed what they believe to be the vehicle Maye drove off in, which was the vehicle later recovered by authorities in Brooklyn, Ohio. The vehicle was driving away from Maye's home. Police could not confirm it was that vehicle because the dash camera did not capture the license plate.
Police then shared additional photos of Maye and again asked that anyone who has seen her or Darnell, or may have seen or interacted with Maye or Darnell in the past week, to contact their tip line.
"I'm also going to plead to Pammy, if she's watching this. Pammy, if you're watching this, could you please reach out and contact us? We need to know Darnell is safe. We are asking, Pammy, and we need to know if you're safe," Bryant said.
What to do if you have information
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Columbus Police tip line at 614-645-2228. Police ask that anyone with any knowledge about Darnell, Maye, their whereabouts, or their recent activities call the tip line, no matter how small the detail.
What happened
According to court documents, Maye's husband told authorities that he made a 911 call after she allegedly harmed Darnell and that she put her hand over his mouth to try to stop him from telling police what was going on.
In audio obtained by News 5, a dispatcher relays what Maye's husband said when he called 911.
"We had a guy call in, said that his wife just killed her foster child. Darnell Taylor, 5-year-old," the dispatcher said.
Police have not said that they believe Darnell is dead, and since the Amber Alert was issued, they have only said that they believe he is "in danger."
A friend of Maye's who did not want to be identified spoke to News 5.
"Her just doing this — it doesn't seem right," she said. "She's happy, she wouldn't never hurt nobody, and I think she's scared right now, her and the baby."
Police hold first press conference
Columbus Police provided an update at about 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, hours after Maye's vehicle was located in Brooklyn, Ohio, asking the public for help.
Where the vehicle was located
Maye was driving a gray 2015 Jeep Cherokee with license plate JIGGZII. The vehicle was located at an apartment complex in Brooklyn, Ohio.
Police said the vehicle was unoccupied.
They used canines to search the area.
News 5's overnight photographer was in the 9000 block of Memphis Road in Brooklyn, where the Jeep was found.
Brooklyn police have found the car related to the Amber Alert out of Columbus but will not say anything to me on scene so I'm not sure about the woman or kid. pic.twitter.com/wHaDQ3vbdV
— Mike Vielhaber (@MVielhaber) February 14, 2024
Investigators said it's unclear if any connection exists between Maye and the Brooklyn apartment complex.
Last seen near Cleveland
The husband is cooperating with authorities and allowed police to search their Columbus home.
Police are searching for Maye, who is believed to have been last seen near Cleveland.
Maye, 48, is 4 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Five-year-old Darnell Taylor has brown hair and eyes. Darnell may be wearing Spider-Man pajamas.
Police ask Brooklyn residents for help
Columbus Police Public Information Officer Sergeant Joe Albert is asking residents in Brooklyn and Columbus to be on the lookout for any missing items on their property.
"We are asking members of the community, especially residents in Brooklyn, to search their private property for anything that appears to be missing or is out of place. If something is located, please contact the local authorities. We are asking the same from residents in the area where Darnell was reported missing from here in Columbus," Albert said.
Multiple Amber Alerts issued
Chief John Majoy, who oversees the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults, told News 5 that this situation illustrates the importance of statewide alerts.
"I think that this emphasizes how important an Amber Alert really is in terms of notifying the public and the real inherent dangers that exist with Amber Alerts," he said. "This is why we get awoken up at 5:30 a.m. because there's a life or death emergency involving a child and we need everybody's help to try to bring the child home safely. In this case here, it originated in Columbus, but yet the car is found in the greater Cleveland area."
Franklin County clarifies Maye's relation to Darnell
Franklin County Children Services released the following statement Wednesday evening:
Franklin County Children Services is working closely with our partners at Columbus Police. We all share a sense of urgency in locating Darnell and Ms. Maye as soon as possible. His safety is our highest priority. We join in asking for the community’s help in sharing with detectives any information they might have about Darnell and Pammy Maye. At this time, there is little additional information we can share about Darnell, his family, or his history with the agency. It should be noted that the Maye family gained legal custody of Darnell, and they were not foster parents in this situation (they are his legal custodians).
Click here to view the News 5 Cleveland Missing Persons page.
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