AMBER Alert Cancelled; Mother In Custody, Child Found Safe
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Officials have called off an AMBER alert issued for a 15-month-old toddler whose mother was suspected of taking the child after she recently lost custody.
The alert issued Thursday afternoon said Khadijah Abdalaziz Sheikh was taken from the day care center in Ramsey on Wednesday.
The child's mother, Yusra Abumayaleh, is suspected of taking her from day care workers who didn't know she had recently lost custody. Officials say Abumayaleh has been acting irrationally and has threatened to commit suicide.
The alert said both the child and her mother were believed to be in danger.
A citizen spotted the mother's vehicle and reported it to law enforcement. State Patrol officers pulled the car over at around 6:50 p.m. Thursday evening on I-35W near Stinson Boulevard. The mother was taken into police custody
Police say the child appears unharmed, but will be taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
"We're very relieved. This is the best possible outcome," Anoka County Sheriff Paul Sommer said. "It happened quicker than we had hoped. The AMBER alert system did it's job today."
Sheriff Sommer says an AMBER alert isn't usually issued in custodial situations, but it was in this case after investigators gathered relevant information from social workers. Officers say the family had a history with police, and they were known to law enforcement. The family does have another child, who authorities say is safe.