U.S Marshals and local law enforcement in Puerto Rico found on Monday a 2-year-old child who had reportedly been kidnapped in Oakwood in September and arrested two Georgians.
The child's father, who did not have custody, was one of the two suspects arrested according to a press release from U.S. Marshals Service.
According to an updated release from Oakwood Police Department on Friday, London Stephens and his girlfriend Jordin Nuble-Myer picked up the child from Cedar Ridge daycare facility in Oakwood on Sept. 28.
The child was originally supposed to return home on Oct. 3, however Stephens requested that the child stay with him until Oct. 7 which the mother approved.
Stephens did not return the child on Oct. 7 and the mother lost contact with him on Oct.16.
The mother then reported the incident to Sergeant Chris Campbell of the Oakwood Police Department on Oct. 19 where he attempted to contact Stephens as well but was unable to reach him.
On Oct. 27 the mother indicated she was worried for the safety of her child and was willing to prosecute the father.
A felony kidnap warrant was issued for Stephens out of Hall County the next day.
A cell phone ping was issued through AT&T on Stephens phone and was successful in finding coordinates that revealed his location in Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force in Atlanta opened the investigation and determined Stephens had fled the state and went to Puerto Rico.
The SERFTF then sent a lead to the USMS Puerto Rico Violent Offenders Task Force to locate and arrest Stephens and to recover the child.
Members of the PRVOTF discovered Stephens had been traveling through multiple homeless shelters and AIRBNBs throughout Puerto Rico with his girlfriend Jordin Nuble-Myer and the child.
Stephens was arrested in Loiza at approximately 8 p.m. by Puerto Rico state police in relation to a home invasion in the area.
Task force members approached Nuble-Myer at a hotel in Condado, San Juan on and was taken into custody after turning over the child who was then placed in the hands of a Family and Child Services social worker
The child’s mother arrived in Puerto Rico on Dec. 6 and returned home safely with the child.
“This case illustrates the excellent relationships the Marshals have with their state and local partner agencies,” Wilmer Ocasio-Ibarra, U.S. Marshal for the District of Puerto Rico said. “We are fully committed to assisting federal, state, and local agencies with locating and recovering endangered missing children, in addition to our primary fugitive apprehension mission. Our message to missing children and their families is that we will never stop looking for you.”
