Saturday, November 29, 2014

Dad kidnaps son during visitation, kept him hidden from Mom for 4 years (Clayton County, Georgia)

Notice how many paragraphs we have to get through to find out who was responsible for this boy being missing--i.e. his father. Dad is identified as GREGORY JEAN.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/missing-boy-rescued-after-4-years-clayton-county/njHnB/

Updated: 1:44 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014 | Posted: 7:18 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014

Missing boy rescued after 4 years in Clayton County

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Clayton County police say they rescued a 13-year-old boy who has been reported missing for four years Saturday morning.

Clayton County police Sgt. Kevin Hughes said officers first went to the home near Jonesboro about 11 p.m. Friday to conduct a welfare check on a child.

“Upon initial arrival, responding officers made contact with several occupants at the location who denied having knowledge of any information concerning the victim,” Hughes said. “After a brief search of the premises, the officers left without locating the victim.”

At about 2 a.m., police said they received a second call about the boy and returned to the house. When officers arrived and after several minutes of questioning adults in the house, officers found the child hidden behind a panel behind a linen closet in an insulation area in the garage.

“While at the location during the second call, the victim was able to establish phone contact with his mother and she in turn passed on additional information to the officers on the scene,” Clayton County police Sgt. Kevin Hughes said. “The victim was found behind a false wall within the residence.”

The boy repeatedly thanked the officers, police said.

Police arrested five people at the home, including the boy’s father, 37-year-old Gregory Jean, and 42-year-old Samantha Joy Davis, and charged them with false imprisonment, cruelty to children and obstruction. The other three people arrested were juveniles, Hughes said.

Authorities said the boy was visiting his father from Florida in 2010 and refused to return him to his mother.

The boy told authorities he used an app on a cell phone to get in touch with his mother.

The boy was reunited with his mother just after 11 a.m. at the Clayton County police department.

A neighbor told Winne the boy was frequently outside the house, mostly doing yard work but sometimes playing.

Authorities say they have a lot of unanswered questions and they are working with the boy's mother.

Authorities said the child’s mother apparently reported the boy missing to child welfare authorities but not previously to police possibly because she’s an immigrant unfamiliar with the system.

Deputy Chief Mike register there were too many unanswered questions this morning as to who has custody and why police weren’t brought in earlier. The boy will likely stay in the custody of Division of Family and Children Services to ensure the child’s safety, the police department’s primary concern.

Police told Channel 2 Action News they believe Davis was convicted of child cruelty charge in Henry County in 2006. We're working on investigating the alleged charge.