Atlanta police rescued a 4-year-old girl and her 11-month-old sister from a locked trailer after the children were reported missing. Officers found the siblings with their babysitter inside a cluttered, unair-conditioned trailer during 97-degree weather. The babysitter, Lakesha Brown, 42, was arrested and faces kidnapping and first-degree cruelty to children charges. Police said the children were reunited with their mother in good health.
The rescue followed an intensive search at an apartment complex after the girls’ mother reported them missing on Saturday night. Officers located the children on Monday afternoon after hearing a baby’s cries from inside a white trailer.
| 1) | Police locate children inside trailer |
| 2) | Officers force entry during extreme heat |
| 3) | Babysitter faces multiple criminal charges |
| 4) | Mother’s report triggered the search |
| 5) | Investigation includes an Alabama warrant |
Police locate children inside trailer
Atlanta police searched an apartment complex after the two sisters were reported missing. The children, identified as Zola Cooper, 4, and Norah Cooper, 11 months, were eventually found inside a white trailer parked at the complex. Officers heard the baby crying and traced the sound to the locked structure.
Body camera footage showed officers discovering both children with Lakesha Brown, the babysitter who had been caring for them. The girls were crying when police entered, and officers carried them from the trailer to safety before arranging their reunion with their mother.
Officers force entry during extreme heat
Police used a cinder block and bolt cutters to break into the trailer on Monday afternoon. According to an arrest warrant, the temperature was 97 degrees Fahrenheit when officers found the children. Investigators also said the cluttered trailer had no air conditioning and relied only on an overhead ventilation system.
Despite the conditions, police said the children were reunited with their mother in good health. The circumstances of the trailer, including the lack of cooling and the locked entry, are part of the allegations supporting the child cruelty charges.
Babysitter faces multiple criminal charges
Lakesha Brown was arrested at the trailer and charged in Atlanta with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children. The charges relate to the alleged removal or retention of the sisters and the conditions in which police found them. The allegations remain subject to court proceedings.
After the arrest, Atlanta police learned that Brown also had an active warrant in Alabama for failing to appear in court in a separate child kidnapping case involving a newborn. Authorities said Brown denied involvement in the August 2021 kidnapping of a 4-day-old baby, although investigators alleged that she posted photographs of the child on social media.
Mother’s report triggered the search
The girls’ mother, Elica Redding, reported them missing at about 10 p.m. Saturday. Redding told police she had left the children with Brown at approximately 6 p.m. so she could go to dinner. Brown was described as a friend whom Redding had met about a year earlier through a Facebook group for pregnant women.
Redding said Brown had represented herself as someone who provided babysitting services. When Brown did not return the children, Redding called 911. She told the dispatcher that Brown claimed there had been an accident and that the children had been taken to a hospital, but Redding said she could not reach Brown by phone and found no record of the girls at the hospitals she contacted.
“She told me there was an accident, but she’s not answering her phone,” Redding told the dispatcher.
Investigation includes an Alabama warrant
The Atlanta investigation is examining the events between the children’s departure with Brown and their discovery at the apartment complex nearly two days later. Police have not publicly identified a motive for the alleged kidnapping. The active Alabama warrant means Brown also faces a separate legal matter outside Georgia.
Authorities used body camera footage, the mother’s emergency report and information gathered during the search to establish the sequence of events. The cases in Georgia and Alabama are separate, and the allegations in each must be resolved through the courts.
| Number | Key Point |
|---|---|
| 1 | Two missing sisters were found inside a locked trailer in Atlanta. |
| 2 | Police said the trailer had no air conditioning during 97-degree weather. |
| 3 | The babysitter faces two kidnapping and two first-degree child cruelty charges. |
| 4 | The children’s mother reported them missing after the babysitter failed to return them. |
| 5 | Brown also had an active Alabama warrant in a separate child kidnapping case. |
Summary
The children were located and returned to their mother after police followed cries from inside a hot, locked trailer. Brown’s Georgia charges concern the alleged kidnapping and treatment of the sisters, while the Alabama warrant concerns a separate case involving a newborn. The investigation remains ongoing, and the allegations have not been adjudicated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who were the children rescued in Atlanta?
They were Zola Cooper, 4, and her 11-month-old sister, Norah Cooper.
What charges does the babysitter face?
Lakesha Brown faces two kidnapping charges and two first-degree cruelty to children charges in Georgia.
How were the children found?
Officers searching an apartment complex heard a baby’s cries from a locked white trailer and used a cinder block and bolt cutters to enter.
Were the children injured?
Police said the children were reunited with their mother in good health after being removed from the trailer.
