A missing 6-year-old from Pasco County, Florida, was found safe inside a pickup truck packed with six people and three pets after Georgia deputies tracked the vehicle across state lines using automated license-plate cameras. Two Florida residents, Kayton Elmer and Aja-Linn Eddy, were arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 16 near Senoia, and four children were placed into state custody.
According to WSB-TV, Kelsie Bell reported her son missing out of Pasco County, and Senoia police officers and Coweta County Sheriff's deputies eventually stopped a blue Ford F-250 east of Wrightsburg Trail. Sgt. Alexis Callaway spotted the truck traveling on Highway 16 and followed it until backup arrived before officers moved in. Elmer and Eddy were detained at the scene and later booked into the Coweta County jail.
Pasco County Sheriff's deputies received the missing child report on July 31 and, after failing to reach the suspects directly, turned to Flock surveillance cameras to trace the F-250 as it left Florida, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. The truck was intercepted in Senoia around 5:15 p.m. that same day, capping a multi-state pursuit built entirely on license-plate reader technology.
Six People, Three Pets, One Five-Seat Truck
Officers who searched the F-250 found it carrying six people and three pets in a vehicle built for five seat occupants, per the station's report. Two dogs and a cat were inside, and Coweta County Animal Control took custody of the animals after one of the dogs was found to be aggressive. The missing child was located sitting in the backseat and told officers he was uninjured.
A Senoia police report cited by FOX 5 Atlanta clarified that it was Eddy's son, not the missing child, who had been squeezed onto the front passenger floorboard at the feet of another juvenile and a large speaker. Eddy's son has Down syndrome, and initial reporting had suggested the missing boy was the one found on the floorboard, a detail the police report corrected. Elmer had driven the child unsecured on the floor from Florida into Georgia, per the same account.
Felony Warrants and Local Charges
Florida felony warrants charged both Elmer and Eddy with interference with custody of a minor, and holds were placed on them for full extradition to Florida. Neither Elmer nor Eddy held parental rights over the missing child. Under Florida Statute § 787.03, interference with custody of a minor is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000, according to the Florida Senate.
Georgia authorities added their own charges on top of the Florida warrants. FOX 5 Atlanta reports Elmer was charged with reckless conduct for operating a vehicle with an unsecured juvenile, while Eddy was charged with party to a crime of reckless conduct; the outlet noted the two are reportedly dating. Under Georgia Code § 16-5-60, reckless conduct is a misdemeanor carrying up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to Douglas & Fox. Georgia law separately requires that all child passengers under eight be properly restrained in an age- and weight-appropriate safety seat in the rear seat, per Atlanta Fire & Rescue.
Four Children Now in State Custody
Officers transported the four children to the Senoia Police Department and placed them in air-conditioned patrol vehicles while the scene was processed. The Ford F-250 was impounded, and the Coweta County Department of Family and Children Services received the four juveniles into state custody. Authorities learned the children's closest relatives live in Utah, Florida and Minnesota.
Placing the children with those relatives is not a simple matter of geography. Under the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, governed by Title 39, Chapter 4 of Georgia's official code, moving custody of a child across state lines to a distant relative requires multi-state administrative approval, according to the Georgia Department of Human Services. It remains unresolved how quickly Coweta County DFCS can process that approval, and whether Elmer and Eddy will waive extradition to Florida is also still an open question.
Cameras That Cracked the Case — and Face Their Own Scrutiny
The rescue relied on the same kind of technology now under a cloud in the very county where the truck was stopped. Just days before the July 31 traffic stop, three Coweta County Sheriff's Office employees resigned following an internal audit into Flock camera system misuse, a matter Hoodline covered in its report on the Coweta Flock audit fallout, which prompted an independent Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe. As of September 2025, the neighboring Senoia Police Department operated nine Flock Safety automated license-plate reader cameras within its jurisdiction, according to the Atlas of Surveillance.
Cases like this one continue to show the reach of license-plate reader networks in locating missing children across state lines, even as the technology draws local debate over oversight. Florida alone records more than 2,600 missing children reports annually, ranking among the top states nationwide, according to National Center for Missing & Exploited Children data cited in a Hoodline report on a separate Homestead missing teen case. That volume underscores why agencies like the Pasco County Sheriff's Office lean on tools such as Flock cameras once initial contact attempts with suspects fail.
