After being reported missing on Saturday night, Zola Cooper, 4, and her 11-month-old sister, Norah Cooper, were found Monday afternoon during an intensive search of an apartment complex.
After reviewing cell phone data and various tips from residents, police zeroed in on the trailer. Detective Sherrod Stancil with the Atlanta Police Department told reporters Wednesday that when he got close, he heard what he thought was “a baby cooing.”
Body camera video released by the Atlanta Police Department showed officers using a cinder block and bolt cutters to break into the trailer, where they discovered the children with 42-year-old Lakesha Brown. Both children were crying as officers entered and carried them to safety.
After reviewing cell phone data and various tips from residents, police zeroed in on the trailer. Detective Sherrod Stancil with the Atlanta Police Department told reporters Wednesday that when he got close, he heard what he thought was “a baby cooing.”
“Detective Berhalter then proceeded to bang on it a lot louder,” Stancil said at a press conference. “Once he had done that, I heard what I knew was the sound of a child crying.”
According to an arrest warrant obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta, it was 97 degrees Fahrenheit when the officers found the children.
Police said the cluttered trailer had no air conditioning and that the only source of cool air was a box fan.
“We also noticed that there seemed to be a mini fridge and a television. In my opinion, that’s clearly where [Brown] was living,” Stancil said.
Brown was arrested and charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children, court records show.
After Brown was arrested, Atlanta police discovered she had an active arrest warrant for failing to appear in court for a separate child kidnapping case in Alabama that involved a newborn baby, People reported.
About the Author
