PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A missing 2-year-old boy was found safe Monday at an airport hotel in Philadelphia after, police say, he was abducted by his presumed father. Police believe that man killed the boy's mother and reported grandmother before taking the child.
Byron McDonald was found at the Aloft Hotel on Island Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia Monday afternoon. He had previously been seen Friday at 1:30 p.m. in the area of 2500 North Bancroft Street.
His presumed father, 28-year-old Byron McDonald, was placed in custody. Police say he is a suspect in the killings of the boy's mother and grandmother. The boy's mother, 25, was found dead in her home Monday, while his reported grandmother was found shot and killed on Friday.
Police also located the red 2017 Chevy Malibu McDonald was driving.
The ordeal started when the mother was found on her dining room floor, shot in the face, along North 8th Street in Logan around 9 a.m. Monday.
"We also received information that the two-year-old child and the victim's car may have been in possession of the victim's boyfriend," said Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Joel Dales.
His department called Pennsylvania State Police to issue the Amber Alert for the toddler, and to find Byron McDonald II.
"We are still trying to find out if he is the biological father or not," Dales added.
After discovery of the vehicle at the hotel, the Philadelphia Police counterterrorism unit arrived on scene. Some officers with long guns started going through each of four hotels in the immediate area to try and locate the missing child. Negotiators convinced the suspect to come out peacefully.
Police also found a woman they believe to be the 28-year-old man's mother.
Authorities say the man is now a person of interest in the death of a 50-year-old woman on Friday afternoon. She may be the boy's grandmother.
"There's a possibility that the victim of today's homicide may be the daughter of the victim who was murdered on Friday on the 2500 block of Bancroft Street," Dales explained.
According to court records, the 28-year-old man pleaded guilty in 2017 to third degree murder and was sentenced to less than a year in prison.
The boy will be examined for possible injuries. Philadelphia Police continue to investigate.