An AMBER Alert issued for a missing 3-year-old Missouri boy was cancelled after the child was found safe in Nashville, Tennessee, authorities confirmed. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced the news on social media, putting an end to a multi-state search that had gripped the public.

The search began after Missouri State Highway Patrol released information that the child, Aziah Laurent, was believed to be traveling with 34-year-old Donald Laurent, possibly en route to Alabama in a white Mercury sedan. In the effort to swiftly recover the young boy, citizens were urged to keep an eye out for the vehicle, bearing Alabama tag 50A242P. According to a WRKN report, the TBI's announcement of Aziah's safety came at around 4:30 p.m. yesterday, just hours after the alert went into effect.

Adding to the urgency, officers with the Perryville Police Department in Missouri had been informed by Aziah's mother that she and the child had previously been assaulted by Donald Laurent on March 19. As she revealed to police, her delay in reporting the incident was due to the father's life-threatening intimidations should she approach law enforcement.

While the suspect was no longer at large and the boy found unharmed, details surrounding the actual capture of Donald Laurent had yet to be released by the authorities. It was noted in the police reports that Laurent had made credible threats over the phone to the mother within the last 24 hours, fueling the nationwide alert and instilling a sense of urgency across state lines, as recounted by WATE News.