Kason Thomas: Second 5-month-old boy found outside Papa Johns after he was kidnapped with his twin Kyair
COLUMBUS, OHIO: The second five-month-old child who was taken hostage along with his twin brother when their mother's car was stolen as she hurried into a pizza shop has been located by authorities in Ohio. About 175 miles from where he was kidnapped, Kason Thomas was discovered alive and unharmed. According to Columbus Police, little Kason was discovered on Thursday, December 22 in a parking lot close to a Papa John's pizza store in Indianapolis.
The little boy was brought to the hospital for a checkup and is said to be in good health. Kason was found in the same outfit as he was kidnapped inside the stolen Honda Accord. Naleh Jackson, 24, the suspected kidnapper of both infants who is also a notorious child abuser, was taken into custody on Thursday. She is accused of kidnapping on two counts. Kason was not with Jackson when she was taken into custody. On the other hand, Kyair Thomas, Kason’s identical twin, was found abandoned and shivering in a parking lot at an airport. According to Columbus Police Deputy Chief Smith Weir, officers received "over three dozen tips" from all throughout the state. Many folks from Indiana called claiming to have seen Jackson in Indianapolis. At around two o'clock in the afternoon, Indianapolis police stopped and apprehended a person they thought to be Jackson.
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CHILD FOUND SAFE & ALIVE
— Columbus Ohio Police (@ColumbusPolice) December 23, 2022
Kason Thomass was found alive & safe in Indianapolis near a Papa John’s pizza location. The 5-month-old boy is in good health & being transported to a hospital to be checked out. Kason was found in the stolen Honda Accord & wearing the same clothes. pic.twitter.com/hUNd9Gnk3T
Elaine Bryant, a member of the police in Columbus, issued the following statement on December 22, “We are grateful to the public for their help throughout this investigation, and for the tireless work of our officers and our many partner agencies. They never stopped, never gave up hope, and would not rest until Kason was found. We are beyond thankful for their relentless dedication. The Emergency Operation Center remains open even though Kason has been found. If you have any information that could be helpful with this case, please call our tip line at 614-645-4701.” According to Bryant, the FBI had offered a $10,000 reward for Kason's safe return. “My tears have turned to joy,” said the twins’ grandmother Fonda Thomas to the Columbus Dispatch. “This means everything. My grandsons get to open up they presents simultaneously. Not one alone, wishing that the other one was there. I'm so happy. I'm so grateful.” “That's going to make my Christmas the best Christmas I've had in my 44 years of life,” she added.
The twins were in a car that Jackson, a known child abuser, is thought to have stolen. When their mother went inside Donatos Pizza in Columbus, Ohio, to pick up a Door Dash order at 9.45 pm on December 19, she left them inside the vehicle with the engine running. Police claim that when the woman turned around, her car vanished with the two infants still inside. The mother was heard telling dispatchers the following in a 911 call, “Somebody just stole my car and my babies are in there. I was just right here and all I was doing was just grabbing this pizza. I was right here, I didn't even go inside the building,” she said. On December 22, Jackson was taken into custody as reported by Daily Mail. She had a criminal history and was accused of maltreating her own child. She admitted guilt to child endangerment charges in June 2021 after her 11-month-old toddler tumbled down a stairway, according to the Columbus Dispatch. She was then given a 13-day prison term and a two-year probationary period. Following the nationwide Amber Alert, Kyair was discovered on December 20 in a parking lot at the Dayton International Airport, about 70 miles west of Donatos Pizza. The child was discovered in a car seat between vehicles in the airport's metered parking area.