2 Missing Sisters Located, Babysitter Taken Into Custody In Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA — Two children who police say were taken by their babysitter while their mother went out for dinner Saturday night have been found safe, Atlanta Police said Monday.

Early Monday morning, authorities issued a Levi's Call for the whereabouts of 11-month-old Norah Cooper and 4-year-old Zola Cooper. A Levi's Call is Georgia's version of an Amber Alert.

The two girls disappeared around 10 p.m. in the 300 block of James P. Brawley Street Northwest, Atlanta Police said.

Their mother met suspect Lakesha Brown online, and Brown was able to gain the mother's trust over the course of a year, said Lt. Christapher Butler, APD Homicide Unit commander, at an afternoon news conference.

The mother allowed Brown to babysit the children while she went out for dinner around 6 p.m., police said. When the mother returned home, she made several attempts to contact Brown but was unsuccessful, police said.

Brown shared information with the mother, alluding that she would return the Cooper sisters; however, Butler said the allusion was false.

Ultimately, the mother contacted police that night to report her daughters missing, police said.

"The mother thought she was leaving her children in the care of someone she could trust," Butler said.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the sisters were believed to be in "extreme danger."

Primarily utilizing cell phone data, and after being given information about a woman in a private trailer, Butler said officers responded Monday to the 2000 block of Sylvan Road in Atlanta.

When they arrived, Butler said officers heard the sounds of a crying baby. When they went into the trailer, police said the officers located the children in good health.

The sisters have been taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, and Brown was taken to APD headquarters. Butler said a motive has not yet been established.

A warrant for failure to appear on a previous case out of Alabama, where she is from, was active against Brown, Butler said.

He noted this is not the first time Brown has been accused of kidnapping. Five years ago, Brown faced a case involving similar circumstances in Alabama, he said.

"We will be happy to reunite these kids with the parents today," APD Deputy Chief Prenzinna Spann said at the news conference.

Butler advised parents to "make sure you really know the person if they're going to be entrusted with your children."

There were no available jail records for Brown as of around 4:15 p.m. Monday.