Ohio Amber Alert issued after twin babies disappear from parking lot

In an update Tuesday afternoon, Columbus Police said they would hold a press conference about the Amber Alert at 2 p.m. NBC4 will stream the conference in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Authorities issued a statewide yellow alert Tuesday morning after two babies were abducted from a Columbus parking lot in their mother’s car, but only one of the infants was found.

The mother had parked her car around 9:45 p.m. Monday but left it running at Donato’s Pizza on East 1st Avenue and North High Street. She left her 5-month-old twins in the car while she went to the store. When she turned and looked outside, her car was gone, according to the Columbus Division of Police.

The two little boys, Kasson and Kyair Thomas, are black with brown eyes and hair. Since the Amber Alert was issued, a CPD sergeant confirmed to NBC4 that Kyair was found at Dayton Airport, almost an hour and a half from Donatos, where the twins disappeared. Kasson was still missing as of Tuesday morning.

Dayton Chief of Public Safety and Security Coordinator Mike Etter shared more details on how Kyair was found. A traveler walking in the economy parking lot around 4:30 a.m. heard a baby cry and then found it in a car seat wrapped in a blanket. Butler Township medics checked the baby’s condition and held him while his parents arrived. Police were still searching the area for the other infant Tuesday morning.

The boys’ father, Lechez Thomas, spoke to NBC4 about the kidnapping on Tuesday afternoon. He asked the public for help in finding his son Kyair.

“I just need to know. I need them both,” Thomas said. “Try to speak up if you know something and make sure the information is genuine. I can’t continue this wild chase. I just wanna hold my son you know? He’s just a baby, he hasn’t hurt anyone.”

Columbus police identified 24-year-old Nalah Tamiko Jackson as a person interested in the kidnapping. Court documents show the 5ft, 7in, 130lb woman was previously charged on separate counts of theft and receipt of stolen property.

The stolen car, a four-door black 2010 Honda Accord, was not found as of Tuesday morning. Originally described as having a ripped off front bumper with a dent on the left rear quarter panel, police said they sustained additional purple paint transfer damage on the left side, as if the car had been in an accident.

CPD added that the Accord had a torn temporary Ohio license plate on the back and a white bumper sticker on the back that read “Westside City Toys.” CPD also said they are checking local businesses to see if anyone has outside cameras on the car.

The Columbus Police Department asked anyone with information about Jackson to call the Special Victims Bureau hotline at 614-645-4266. CPD asked anyone who sees the car or the infants to call 911 immediately.