Child found with father

From staff reports
Published: May 6, 2008

The Eufaula Police Department received a call around 9 a.m. from a resident of Wren Lane who stated her 5-month-old daughter was missing when she woke up this morning. Police were able to locate the little girl in the custody of her father in Millbrook around noon today.

While waiting for verification on the child, the group of emergency personnel met with Capt. Tim Marsh of the Eufaula Police Department for a briefing on the situation and to begin preparing for the search if necessary.

Paperwork for an Amber Alert was filled out in case the child could not be located with a family member, and E.R.T. members began to discuss plans for setting up a search perimeter.

Fortunately, the child was found before a search became necessary. Eufaula Police Chief J.C. West later announced to the group that the child was safe and in good health.

“Apparently, we had a parent who wasn’t paying attention,” said West as he addressed the E.R.T. “According to the father, (he) drove down last night around 1 a.m., went inside, got the child and headed back to Millbrook. The mother says she woke up this morning and found the child missing.”

According to information released by the EPD, the door of the residence was left unlocked. The mother was sleeping on a couch, and the infant and two other young children were sleeping on a mat on the floor next to the couch.

“The conditions are terrible,” said West, describing the home in which the children were living. West also stated he had a bad feeling about the case when he showed up at the residence this morning.

“We treat it as a worse case scenario until we prove differently,” he said. “This is a great ending. We’re going to coordinate through the DHR to do everything we can to see what we can do to help these kids.”

Both Marsh and West commented on the quick response of the E.R.T.

“This should tell everyone what Barbour County is all about,” said Marsh. “In the middle of the day, at the beginning of a work week, when the buzzer goes off, you show up.”