PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A 1-year-old boy who was kidnapped over the weekend in Vineland, New Jersey was reunited with his mother in Philadelphia Monday night, but authorities are still searching for the teen who is accused of taking the child.
Multiple law enforcement agencies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who are involved in this case were able to get the baby back in his mother’s arms at Philadelphia police headquarters.
The whole ordeal started in Vineland, Cumberland County on Saturday when the mother gave 16-year-old Akera Johns permission to watch the baby, according to police. Their exact relationship was not immediately clear.
However, instead of giving the boy back when it was time to do so, Johns took off for an unknown reason, investigators said.
Vineland police issued an alert on Monday saying the baby and Johns were missing and were possibly in Philadelphia. There were a few sightings of them on Monday — at 32nd Street and Susquehanna Avenue in Strawberry Mansion in the morning, and in Center City around noon.
The situation started to receive media attention and also caught Johns’ eyes. She saw that she was charged with kidnapping, according to the U.S. Marshals Service, so she gave the baby to someone she knew in Philadelphia. That person then contacted the boy’s relatives in the city, and they contacted authorities, who facilitated the reunion of the child and his mother.
Johns is still believed to be in the Philadelphia area. Authorities ask anyone with information about her whereabouts to call 911.