Woman charged with abducting 3-year-old after she was tracked down in an Uber, SC cops say

The search for a missing child came to an end Sunday when the 3-year-old boy was safely returned to his family and a woman was arrested on multiple charges, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

Atia Monay Thomas, 40, was charged with kidnapping and abduction, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

At around 2 a.m., Thomas took 3-year-old Kayden Thompson near his home in the 1200 block of Metze Road, an autistic non-verbal toddler, according to the release. That’s in Columbia, near the intersection with Broad River Road, not far from St. Andrews Road.

Earlier that evening, Kayden had fallen asleep in his father’s arms, the sheriff’s department said. Kayden’s father eventually woke up and found his son was no longer with him and the front door to their home was open, according to the release.

Both of the toddler’s parents immediately began to search for their son, and Kayden’s mother ultimately flagged down a sheriff’s deputy near the 3500 block of Broad River Road and reported that her son was missing, the sheriff’s department said.

The deputy assisted the mother back to her home and gathered information while more deputies responded to the home and began a search of the area, according to the release. The search included members of the sheriff’s department’s K9 division and investigations team, as well as drones and members of the Columbia Police Department.

Shortly after deputies arrived to search for Kayden, a man in a vehicle flagged down a deputy on patrol and said he saw Kayden while driving on Metze Road and pulled over to call 911, the sheriff’s department said. The man said that he saw a woman approach Kayden, and she told him that she knew where the toddler lived and would return him to his home, according to the release.

About 15 minutes later, the man returned and found sheriff’s department vehicles in the area, but the woman was unknown to Kayden’s family and she did not return the child to his home, the sheriff’s department said.

While Deputies continued to search, they were able to locate a door camera that showed a child matching Kayden’s description who was being carried by a woman, according to the release. Family members identified the child as Kayden, but did not recognize the woman, and the search was elevated to a possible kidnapping, the sheriff’s department said.

Soon Kayden’s family members began to yell that they just saw the woman from the camera footage in a vehicle driving in the area, and deputies stopped the suspicious vehicle, according to the release. Once the vehicle came to a stop, it was determined that it was an Uber and Thomas was a passenger, the sheirff’s department said.

Thomas and the driver were taken to the residence where the family and deputies identified Thomas as the woman in the footage who was seen carrying Kayden, according to the release.

Kayden’s father said that during the search he saw Thomas carrying his son, and had grabbed Kayden but Thomas left in the Uber, according to the release.

The sheriff’s department said Thomas willfully and unlawfully confined Kayden without his parents’ permission and took the 3-year-old to her home where she changed his clothes. Despite what she told the man who called 911, Thomas did not return Kayden to his parents and attempted to leave the area with the toddler, according to the release.

Thomas was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, where she remains behind bars as no bond has been set, jail records show.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.