Exclusive: After missing Dolton teen, twin infants found safe, family says ordeal isn’t over
Exclusive: After missing Dolton teen, twin infants found safe, family says ordeal isn’t over
A grandmother of twin infant boys is relieved after the babies were found safe. They were reported missing from their Dolton home Sunday and turned up in Chicago.
DOLTON, Ill. - A grandmother of twin infant boys is relieved after the babies were found safe. They were reported missing from their Dolton home Sunday and turned up in Chicago.
What we know:
Ashley Atkinson, grandmother of the twin babies, exclusively told FOX Chicago on Tuesday, "I’m happy they’re home, they’re safe, like, what if I never saw them again."
It was the best outcome for Atkinson. On Sunday, she panicked when she woke up in the morning, looked in the crib, and her 1-month old twin grandsons were gone, along with her 17-year old daughter.
She suspected the three were with an older man.
"She’s only 17," Atkinson said. "From what I’ve been told, she met the man when she was 16 and basically, she was lured out of the home after 2 in the morning."
Atkinson added, "I was afraid he was gonna take them all and I would never see them again."
She went to the authorities. Police issued a missing persons alert and circulated photos of the twins, Jaylen and Jayden and their mother, Zarreya. Activist Andrew Holmes hit the streets looking for them.
Within 24 hours, Zarreya and her sons allegedly were dropped off on a street corner in Chicago. She found her way to a police station.
The man with her has not been identified but the grandmother was told he had a criminal record.
Atkinson said, "That’s my biggest concern, my biggest fear. That he may find another young lady or young girl that may be struggling in life or going through something or an identity crisis and prey on the young and take their baby, too. You never know who’s next."
She believes quick action made the difference.
"And I just feel like if I didn’t say nothing, I stood quiet, and we wouldn’t have gotten them back as fast as we did," she said. "I’m grateful to everybody, you, too [referring to Fox Chicago] and your crew, for showing up and being speedy and putting this out there. Because I felt like if we had taken any longer, they wouldn’t have been found."
The man with her daughter is not charged with a crime.