COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – A Richland County family is breathing a sigh of relief this afternoon after rescuing their three-year-old child from captivity.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department arrested 40-year-old Atia Monay Thomas and charged her with the kidnapping of autistic Kayden Thompson.
According to the sheriff, Thomas took the child home, changed her clothes and attempted to flee when she was caught.
Thompson’s father told RCSD officials that his son fell asleep in his arms. When he woke up, the door to his house was open and his son was gone.
His parents immediately searched the area, called all their friends and relatives and flagged down a deputy patrolling nearby, the sheriff’s office said.
According to a press release from the RCSD, sniffer dogs immediately began searching the area for Thompson.
Another person flagged down an officer who was searching the area and said he saw Thompson on Metze Road and called 911. He said he saw a woman walking toward the child. That woman told the witness she knew where Thompson lived and would return Thompson to his family.
As police officers searched the area, they found video from a doorbell camera showing Thompson being carried by a woman who did not recognize Thompson’s family.
The sheriff’s department knew it needed its special kidnapping units and criminal investigators. Drones were also deployed and the Columbia Police Department joined the search, the sheriff’s department said.
“The father stated that while searching the area, he noticed Thomas carrying his son. He grabbed Kayden and Thomas drove away in the Uber,” the sheriff’s department said.
Family members said they saw surveillance footage of the woman in the Uber traveling in the area and alerted officials.
According to RCSD, officers found the Uber and began a pursuit.
According to authorities, the Uber came to a stop and Atia Thomas was inside.
Thomas and the Uber driver were taken back to the Thompsons’ home, where family and officers determined that Thomas was the same woman seen in the video with the 3-year-old child, the news release said.
Officials said they found that Thomas took the child to her home, changed her clothes and then attempted to leave the area with him.
She is charged with kidnapping and has been remanded to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center to await her bail hearing.
Thomas was charged in April 2023 with unlawfully endangering, harming, or willful abandonment of a child. The case is still pending in Richland County court.
Feel more informed, prepared and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our Email newsletterAnd Download our apps. Do you have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2024 WIS. All rights reserved.
