An Amber Alert for a missing 5-year-old boy in Decatur has been canceled after the child was found safe, and his mother, Tia Smith, was taken into custody. The DeKalb County Police Department confirmed the boy was located at an apartment about nine miles from the initial incident, according to Atlanta News First.
The situation began Thursday afternoon when Smith, 23, who does not have legal custody of her son, allegedly took him from his father’s home after an argument with the family. FOX 5 Atlanta reports that during the incident, a 26-year-old family member was struck and seriously injured by a vehicle. The child’s grandmother, Alfreda Harris Wilson said, “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. What she did—take him. So in that process my son is laid up at Grady Hospital. Now that's a tragic situation, but they got her. She's in custody now, so we thank you.”
Authorities issued a Levi’s Call, Georgia’s version of an Amber Alert, describing the child as being in extreme danger. He was later found unharmed.
Smith has been charged with kidnapping and aggravated assault. FOX 5 Atlanta also reports she was already awaiting trial for a previous child abuse charge involving the same child. The child has since been reunited with his father and grandmother.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed.
