Abducted children at center of Amber Alert found, suspect in custody, police say

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Two children believed to have been abducted by a babysitter on Monday are safe and the suspect is in custody, according to the Atlanta Police Department.

Atlanta police say 11-month-old Norah Cooper and her sister 4-year-old Zola Cooper are safe and in good health, but taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The suspect’s name is Lakesha Brown, according to police. She has since been taken into custody after all three were found at the Gateway South Apartment Complex on Sylvan Road.

Brown is charged with kidnapping and will not receive bond.

Lt. Christapher Butler with Atlanta police said the suspect gained the mother’s trust over the course of a year before the abduction happened.

The girls’ mother, Elica Redding, said soon after having 11-month-old Norah, she’d befriended Brown online. She said Brown offered to come over and do Redding’s hair.

“She became a family friend from when I first met her on a mom group and she posted about giving free services for expecting moms. That’s how I met her, and after that we just started hanging,” said Redding.

Now, about a year later, Atlanta police said Redding let Brown babysit her children while she went out to eat Saturday around 6 p.m., but Brown and the children never came back. Redding reported the girls missing on Sunday.

“The mother thought she was leaving her children in the care of someone she could trust,” said Butler. “She’d gone out and there was some information that the suspect gave alluding to the fact that she was returning the children, which turned out not to be factual, so that’s what led to the delay of the 911 call.”

On Monday, Atlanta police said someone tipped them off in the Gateway South Apartment Complex. Officers arrived and heard a baby crying. That’s when they say they found Brown and the two girls in a trailer on the property.

An Amber Alert connected to the abduction was issued Monday morning. It included details about a white Ford F-350 truck with Alabama license plate number ICO87Y4.

Before the girls were found, Atlanta News First asked Redding what she wanted to do when she had her girls back in her arms.

“Hug them. I’m gonna hug them. I think they’re hungry, so I’m gonna feed them. I don’t know, I just want them back,” said Redding.

Police say this is not the first time Brown has been accused of doing something similar.

Atlanta police confirm Brown is the same woman arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2021 for allegedly kidnapping a 4-day-old baby. Brown reportedly spent time getting close to the mother and plotting the kidnapping over several days.

She was charged with first-degree kidnapping. Butler said she has an outstanding warrant in Alabama for failing to appear in court.

Lynneice Washington, the Jefferson County district attorney in Alabama, told our sister station WBRC they will be filing a motion to revoke Brown’s bond after her arrest in Atlanta Monday.

“It’s sad. It’s scary and it’s sad. My heart goes out to the mother of those babies,” she said. “This is unacceptable, whether it’s in Georgia or Alabama. We have laws that are used to protect our children, and we also have laws that when they are violated, those adults have to be held accountable.”

Atlanta police thanked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the FBI for their assistance, and they credited cellphone data for getting them close to the suspect.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.