Nashville, TN — The search has been called off for a 4-month-old who went missing in Nashville. On Sunday, police found the child with her babysitter, who had been passing the baby off as her own.
The parents had reported their daughter, Jalayia Gonzalez, and her babysitter, 22-year-old Javeele Thomas, missing when they could not get hold of Thomas after last Thursday.
Police found Thomas and the baby as well as Thomas’ boyfriend in Alabama, over 280 miles south of Nashville.
“Come to find out, Ms. Thomas had told her boyfriend back in May or June 2014 that she was pregnant and he was the father. Around October, she lost the child and broke contact with the father in November. She re-established contact with the father, telling him she was out of town and that she had had the baby,” said Chief Monty Giddens to WKRN.
“She made arrangements to babysit Jalayia and meet her boyfriend, and she presented Jalayia to him as their child. Ms. Thomas, Jalayia and the driver who thought he was a new dad headed to Lineville to see his family,” Giddens added.
Thomas has been charged with second degree kidnapping and put on $20,000 bond.