Police in Atlanta have arrested Lakesha Brown, a babysitter accused of kidnapping two young sisters, Zola Cooper, 4, and Norah Cooper, 11 months old. The girls, who had been considered to be in extreme danger, were safely recovered by officers on Monday, the City of Atlanta Police Department confirmed.
Brown reportedly gained the trust of the girls' mother and agreed to babysit them Saturday evening. When the mother returned from dinner, she was unable to contact Brown and reported the children missing around 10:30 p.m. that night. The mother had left her children in Brown's care at 6 p.m. earlier that evening.
By Monday afternoon, police located the girls in the Sylvan road area using technology. Officers heard crying upon arrival and were able to bring the children to safety.
Atlanta police stated that Brown had previously been accused in a similar kidnapping case in Alabama. In August 2021, Brown was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a four-day-old infant named Kamarion Taylor. According to investigators in Alabama, Brown had allegedly gained the trust of Taylor's mother and grandmother and abducted the infant while his mother was taking a nap.
"When Kamarion’s mother awoke, the baby was nowhere to be found. Lakesha was also gone. The mother immediately contacted Lakesha and asked where Kamarion was. Lakesha told her that Kamarion was there in his playpen where she laid him before she left," the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said at the time. Investigators safely recovered Kamarion, and Brown was booked into jail.
Investigators from Georgia and Alabama assisted in the search for the two young sisters in Atlanta.