NH Boy At Center Of Amber Alert Found Safe, Father In Custody
FARMINGTON, Maine (CBS) – The New Hampshire boy at the center of an Amber Alert has been found safe in Maine and his father was taken into custody by police after a pursuit.
At about 1:25 a.m. on Friday, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department and Farmington Police Department in Maine found Jeremiah Grant and his one-year-old son Malachi Grant of Somersworth, N.H.
Police in Franklin County chased the vehicle, and eventually deployed spike strips to deflate tires.
After using the spike strips, police approached Jeremiah's car and took him in to custody.
The boy was in the backseat, though he was not restrained in a car seat.
Malachi was found in the backseat unharmed, though he was not restrained in a carseat.
The boy was reunited with his mother in Somersworth, N.H. later in the morning.
An emotional Stephanie Fall says she didn't think she would see her son alive again.
She said the past 18 hours were the worst of her life.
"It was a nightmare," she told WBZ-TV's Nicole Jacobs, "And I'm glad that it's come to an end."
Fall said she turned her head for a second and then saw her son was gone, taken by her husband.
"I don't wish it upon anybody to feel that," she said.
Grant, 33, is a Class A sex offender out of Maine.
Somersworth Police Cpt. David Kretschmar said Grant had no food for the child and only had about three diapers when he took off with his son.
Part of the reason for issuing the Amber Alert was that police knew Grant owned a knife, Kretschmar said.
"The comments and some of the actions that happened throughout the day were concerning to all of us," he said. "We felt pretty strongly that Malachi was in danger."
"I've done this for 32 years. This one was a hard one," Kretschmar added.
Grant was charged by Farmington Police as a fugitive from justice.
He will be extradited to New Hampshire, where he will be charged with one count of taking without owner's consent and one felony count of interference with custody.