Suspect in Columbus kidnapping found in Indiana, child still missing
After two and a half days, police in Indiana have arrested Nalah T. Jackson, the 24-year-old charged with the abduction of 5-month-old Columbus twins Kason and Kyair Thomas on Monday night when she stole their mother’s running car outside a Donatos in Columbus’ Short North neighborhood.
Kason remains missing. He was not with her when Jackson was arrested.
Kyair was discovered in the bitter cold about 4:15 a.m. Tuesday, wrapped in a quilt in his car carrier seat left between two cars in economy parking lot at Dayton International Airport.
Columbus police charged Jackson with two counts of kidnapping on Tuesday.
Jackson was arrested by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police at 2p.m. on Tuesday by police in Indianapolis, Indiana, located 175 miles away from Columbus.
The search for Kason continues.
Gov. Mike DeWine expressed his anguish for the Thomas family ahead of the conference held by Columbus police Thursday evening.
“Our hearts go out to the family. I cannot think of anything that’s more of a parent’s nightmare than to have children kidnapped,” the governor said. “Our prayers are with the family and hoping that the second child will be reunited with the family. The highway patrol have been regularly involved in this and offering assistance. We will continue to do that.”
Columbus police received over 3,000 tips so far, related to the case, said Deputy Chief Smith Weir during Thursday’s press conference.
More:What we know about Columbus missing twins suspect Nalah T. Jackson and her Dayton ties
A history of child endangerment
Over the past two months, Jackson made three visits to Riverside, a suburb of Dayton, in an attempt to contact her two daughters, according to incident reports from the Riverside Police Department. The latest visit occurred on Dec. 15.
Dominic Davies, Jackson’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her daughters, told Riverside police he has full custody of the girls because of Jackson’s drug abuse and mental illness.
In an interview with The Dispatch on Thursday, Davies said Jackson is “like a different person” than the woman he met and had a relationship between 2017-2019.
She had previous run-ins with law enforcement on child endangerment charges and allegations, Franklin County Municipal Court records show.
Last year, in September 2021, Jackson was accused of attempting to abduct her own children from the National Youth Advocacy Center, a protective services agency, which held emergency custody over her children, Columbus police reported.
And in June 2021 Jackson pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges after her 11-month-old daughter fell down an apartment staircase, according to court records.
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