Two individuals were taken into custody in Southeast Austin following allegations of kidnapping a 7-year-old child, as reported by CBS Austin. The Austin Police Department has identified the suspects as 56-year-old Jeffrey Caneen and 32-year-old Taylor Brasher. They now face charges of first-degree aggravated kidnapping, a serious felony offense.
On March 14, at around 1:40 p.m., officers responded to a reported kidnapping incident in the 2600 block of South Pleasant Valley Road. Upon reaching the scene, authorities engaged with the child's mother, who claimed her child was taken from her apartment. As per officers' accounts, nearby spectators were quick to point out that the child could be found in a different apartment. This led officers to successfully find and safely recover the child.
The situation unraveled further as KXAN obtained details from an arrest warrant affidavit. According to the document, the mother of the child told police that she left her child alone momentarily to go to the store. When she returned, she noticed the absence of both her child and some sodas, which raised her suspicion that someone had entered the apartment and could possibly have taken the child.
Following the arrest, Brasher claimed to have seen the child walking in the breezeway of the building and asked them to show where they lived. What unfolded next, as per court records, was Brasher entering the child's apartment, packing items, consuming food, and then forcibly returning with the child to her own apartment. This encounter escalated as Brasher "hit" the distressed child, who had attempted to resist by stomping on her feet.
At the suspects' apartment, the child faced further assault and expressed intentions to go home, even trying to escape through the door, authorities outlined. While information regarding the suspects' relation to the child and a potential motive remains undisclosed, investigations by the APD continue to unfold.
While attorney information for Caneen was not available, efforts had been made to reach out to Brasher's attorney with no update on a statement, as reported by KXAN. This case, as with any involving allegations of harm to a child, is likely to be watched closely by the community as it proceeds through the legal system.
