Just in time, two mothers discover a missing baby in an abandoned car.
Moms are typically the target audience for crime documentaries. This is entirely based on personal observation rather than hard data. It’s simple to put your sleuthing skills to the test on a case that has already been solved and is being broadcast on multiple networks. When faced with a real-life situation, it’s a little more difficult and should probably be left to the professionals.
But what happens when you’re confronted with someone accused of kidnapping a baby? After purchasing toys from a woman standing in front of a gas station, two women in Indianapolis donned their detective hats. Shyann Delmar and Mecka Curry’s gut instinct took them on a wild ride worthy of a Lifetime movie.
Kason and Ky’air Thomas, 5-month-old twins in Columbus, Ohio, were in the backseat of their mother’s running car on December 19 when she ran inside to pick up a Door Dash order. Nalah Jackson had hopped in the car and taken off with the boys inside in the time it took her to retrieve the order and return to the car.
The following morning, Jackson departed Ky’air for Dayton International Airport, but the search for his twin brother Kason continued. When it comes to missing children, the clock starts ticking as soon as they are discovered. Unlike adult missing persons, the FBI intervenes as soon as an Amber Alert is issued for children of “tender years,” defined as 12 and under. As a result, there were a lot of people looking for Kason and Jackson.
According to News5 Cleveland, Delmar bought toys from Jackson in front of an Indianapolis gas station and gave the woman, who claimed her name was “Mae,” a ride to the dollar store when she began acting strangely. Delmar recorded the passenger and exchanged numbers before dropping “Mae” off at the store because she began behaving strangely.
A photo is worth a thousand words.
— IMPD (@IMPDnews) December 23, 2022
The IMPD is thankful that Kason Thomas was found earlier this evening.
We would like to thank the IMPD Officers and Detectives who worked to track down the baby and suspect.
We would like to thank community members who helped in locating him pic.twitter.com/5UOvRTiN9W
Delmar sensed something was off, and her first inkling came while she was browsing social media. “I was scrolling on Facebook and saw a mugshot, of this girl with… blonde hair, and I’m like… she looks familiar.” Delmar told News5 Cleveland. Delmar contacted her cousin Mecka Curry, who eventually helped find the child, after her grandmother informed her that the woman in the mugshot could be someone else.
When the two cousins started working together, they devised a plan to assist in the arrest of the woman. Delmar had exchanged phone numbers with the woman, so when she called to see if Delmar wanted to buy more toys, the women’s plan was set in motion. They were able to get the woman into the car, but their attempts to notify the police resulted in the runaround because the police stations didn’t believe them.
Curry told New5 Cleveland, “Now the police know what kind of car we in, the police know who we got in the car, the police know what to do, they know where our location is,” and the plan worked. They were pulled over, and Jackson had no idea who had called the cops as she was being apprehended. But because the baby wasn’t with Jackson, the cousins had to rely on their only lead.
Jackson had left a bus schedule in Delmar’s car, so the ladies retraced the stops on the schedule in search of a snow-covered vehicle that had not been touched. The plan was for Jackson to abandon the car, which would be covered in fresh snow. They were correct. The two noticed the abandoned car and noticed Kason’s legs through the window. He was rescued just in time because Indianapolis was supposed to drop below freezing that night.
Of course, the family is grateful that these ladies did not ignore their intuition and would not stop until they completely followed their gut instinct. Kason returned home in time for Christmas, where he was reunited with his twin brother and both of his parents.