A Florida missing-child investigation ended hundreds of miles away in Georgia, where police stopped a Ford F-250 carrying six people despite having seating for five.
Inside were four children, two dogs, and a cat. One of the children was riding on the front passenger floorboard at another child’s feet, according to WSB-TV.
The missing child was also inside the truck, although he was not the child found on the floorboard. Police recovered him from the back seat during the July 31 stop in Senoia, Georgia.
The investigation also provides a fairly direct example of what automated license plate readers can do when a vehicle crosses jurisdictions. Authorities said Flock camera data helped investigators track the pickup out of Florida before a Senoia officer located it on Highway 16.
Police Find the F-250 in Georgia
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The case began in Pasco County, Florida, where authorities received a report of a missing child on July 31.
According to reporting based on information from Pasco County and Senoia police, investigators tried unsuccessfully to reach 35-year-old Kayton Lee Elmer and 34-year-old Aja-Linn Eddy.
Investigators then searched Flock camera data and located the F-250 traveling out of Florida.
By the time the truck reached Senoia, Sgt. Alexis Callaway of the Senoia Police Department spotted it traveling on Highway 16, according to WSB-TV. Rather than immediately attempting the stop, Callaway followed the pickup until additional officers could arrive.
Senoia police and Coweta County sheriff’s deputies then stopped the truck on Highway 16 east of Wrightsburg Trail.
Elmer, who was driving, and Eddy, who was a passenger, were detained.
There Wasn’t a Seat for Everyone
What officers found inside created another problem entirely.
The F-250 had six people inside despite having five seats. Four of the occupants were children.
One child was riding on the front passenger floorboard, positioned at the feet of another juvenile and beside a large speaker, WSB-TV reported. Police said the child had traveled from Florida to Georgia without being secured in a seat.
The child reported missing in Florida was elsewhere in the pickup. Officers found him in the back seat, and WSB-TV reported that he told police he was uninjured.
There were also three animals along for the trip: two dogs and a cat.
That left police dealing not only with the missing-child investigation and two adults in custody, but four children and three pets on the side of a Georgia highway.
The Children and Animals Needed Somewhere to Go
Officers placed the four children in air-conditioned patrol vehicles while they handled the scene, according to WSB-TV.
They were then taken to the Senoia Police Department before being turned over to the Coweta County Department of Family and Children Services.
Coweta County Animal Control took custody of the two dogs and cat. The F-250 was impounded.
Elmer and Eddy were booked into the Coweta County Jail.
Both were charged with interference with custody of a minor, according to reporting citing the Senoia police report. Elmer was also charged with reckless conduct for allegedly operating the vehicle with a juvenile unsecured, while Eddy was charged with party to a crime of reckless conduct.
Authorities also placed holds on both for extradition to Florida on felony warrants, WSB-TV reported.
The Cameras Only Did Part of the Work
The sequence is worth noting because the case involved more than a camera generating an alert next to a patrol car.
The investigation started with a missing-child report in Florida. After attempts to contact Elmer and Eddy were unsuccessful, investigators used Flock’s automated license plate reader network to locate the vehicle traveling out of the state.
That information helped narrow the search, but officers still had to locate the F-250 on the road.
Callaway eventually spotted the truck in Senoia, followed it while backup assembled, and police and sheriff’s deputies conducted the stop.
By then, the pickup and its occupants had crossed state lines. The missing child was recovered safely, while the conditions officers encountered inside the truck resulted in additional charges and four children being placed in state custody.