Missing 4-Year-Old Found Safe After Amber Alert Issued

DECATUR, Ga. — A 4-year-old boy who was the subject of an Amber Alert on Friday afternoon has been located safe, according to the DeKalb County Police Department.

The alert was issued after Tia Smith, 23, took her son from his father’s home around 4 p.m. Police indicated that Smith did not have legal custody of the child. She purportedly told the family she was taking him for the weekend.

Alfreda Harris Wilson, the boy’s grandmother, expressed her concerns, stating, “She wasn’t allowed to come and she was trespassing. She came to see her son. My other son was home and she ran him over, hit him and ran him over trying to take him.” Wilson’s son, who was injured during the incident, is recovering in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital.

According to the police, the incident escalated after Smith and the family had a confrontation. Following the Amber Alert, authorities located the child unharmed at the apartment of an acquaintance of Smith, approximately six to eight miles away from his grandmother’s home.

Smith has been charged with kidnapping and aggravated assault, and she was already out on bond for a previous child abuse charge involving the same child. Investigators stated she was caught on video hitting the child with a belt last year.

Following the incident, the boy has been reunited with his father and grandmother, who are relieved to have him home safe. Further charges against Smith may be pending as the investigation continues.