A child pressed a handwritten note reading “HELP US” against a window inside a Kissimmee home two weeks ago, alerting police to children hiding inside during a domestic disturbance. Officers responded after family members called in fears for the kids’ safety, and the case ended with a man named Andre Janard Smithson in handcuffs.
Kissimmee police officers responded to the disturbance involving Smithson on October 26, after family members contacted authorities and expressed concerns for the safety of children inside the home, according to Positively Osceola. Family members told police the children were inside the residence and that they feared for their safety, setting off the police response that would unfold over the following hours.
A Note in the Window Changes Everything
As officers worked the scene, one of the children held a handwritten note against a window with the words “HELP US,” alerting police to their location, per the same report. That visual cue gave officers a critical lead, but the children still weren't in plain sight. With assistance from the department's Special Weapons and Tactics Team and Crisis Negotiation Team, officers deployed a drone to locate the children, who were hiding in a room inside the residence.
The drone search paid off. Once officers pinpointed where the children were hiding, the children were able to safely escape the residence while Smithson was distracted, the outlet reported. As WESH 2 News also reported on the incident, Smithson ultimately surrendered peacefully to police, according to authorities.
Charges and an Outstanding Warrant
Smithson was arrested on charges of false imprisonment and an outstanding active warrant, according to police. The Kissimmee Police Department did not release additional details about the children's ages or the circumstances surrounding the domestic disturbance, leaving much of what led up to the standoff unexplained.
Under Florida law, false imprisonment is defined as forcibly, by threat, or secretly confining, abducting, imprisoning, or restraining another person without lawful authority and against that person's will, according to the 2026 Florida Statutes. The statute classifies the offense as a third-degree felony. Notably, the law also specifies that confinement of a child under 13 is considered against the child's will if it happens without the consent of a parent or legal guardian, a provision that could bear on how the case against Smithson proceeds.
