Knoxville, TN – A 2-year-old toddler at the center of an AMBER Alert was found safe late Sunday night after being missing for over three hours. The child, identified as Elton Bailey, was located inside a Ford Explorer that had been reported stolen earlier in the evening.
The incident began when Bailey’s grandfather briefly stopped at a home on Old State Road and left the vehicle running with the toddler inside. When the grandfather returned, he discovered the car was missing and assumed it had been stolen. The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) quickly issued an AMBER Alert and initiated a search for the vehicle and the child.
After several hours of searching, the car was located by Knox County deputies in a muddy construction site, not far from where the car was originally reported stolen. The toddler was found safe inside the vehicle, unharmed.
KPD’s Special Crimes Unit is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the car’s disappearance. Authorities are considering whether the vehicle was indeed stolen or if it was left in gear, causing it to roll into the construction site.
“We are grateful for the cooperation of the public and the agencies that assisted in the search,” said a spokesperson for KPD. “Thanks to their efforts, we were able to safely locate the child.”
The AMBER Alert, which had captured widespread attention, was lifted once Bailey was found. Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in the ground search, with KPD expressing appreciation for the community’s help in locating the toddler.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities work to determine exactly what happened leading up to the car’s disappearance and Bailey’s recovery.
