TRANSCRIPTION OF PRESS CONFERENCE
20TH DECEMBER.
Chief - We are here to talk about the 2, five month old children that were abducted earlier this morning/late last night. First, I want to make a plea - Nalah Jackson, I plead to you, please return Kason Thomass. We thank you for returning Kyair. You've already shown us you can do the right thing. You can return him to any safe location, Fire Department, Hospital, Shopping Centre, any public place where someone will find the baby. We're begging you to please return Kason. We can even pick him up. Just call us and tell us where you are and where Kason is. No questions asked. Here's the number 614-645-4701. Bringing him home safe is our number one priority.
To the family - The Columbus Division of Police is doing everything we can to find Kason. There have been over 60 officers on this case since this first came in last night. There are officers that worked 3rd shift that did not want to go home until these babies were found. The main detective on this case is still working this case. We're following every lead and tracking down every moment from the time these babies went missing.
There was a lapse of communication from an executive level. That is being addressed internally and that is something that we're going to make sure does not occur again. However, I do want to provide a timeline in regards to the work that we have done and the things that are being done, right now, as we speak, to locate Kason and to locate the suspect. After I give you this timeline, I'm going to then turn it over to the team for additional information and questions.
December 19th.
- At 9:45 pm. - A call came in at the Donatos Pizza at 920 North High St., on the report of a stolen vehicle with twin 5 month babies in the car. The mom, was at Donatos to retrieve food for a door dash order. Officers arrived in minutes and was on the scene..
- At 9:52 pm. - Once on scene, employees of the Donatos stated, a homeless female, Nalah Jackson was in the restaurant and left when the victim walked in. Through investigative work, the suspect was positively identified by employees.
- At 10:17 pm. - A grid pattern search of over fifty officers were started in that area. The CPD copter also responded.
- Approx. 10:30 pm. - All other police departments were notified. Ohio State Patrol, Ohio State Grandview, Upper Arlington, joined in on the search.
- Approx. 11:00 pm. - These other departments started going to all known former addresses of Nalah Jackson. Three other known homeless camps were also checked at this time.
- At 11:45 pm. - Sgt. Fishburn notified Ohio State Patrol, requesting an Amber Alert.
- At 12:05 pm. - Deputy Chief Weir, again, notifies Ohio State Patrol about requesting an Amber Alert.
- At 12:30 am. - Additional detectives and supervisors are called in from home to help with the search.
- At 1:37 am. - The Amber Alert was issued.
- At 4:15 am. - We received a call that a child has been abandoned near the Dayton International Airport. That child was, in fact, Kyair.
- At 5:47 am. - Media was updated that Kyair was found safe.
- At 6:00 am. - Sgt. Fishburn and Detective Martin, they leave for Dayton to continue the investigation.
- At 11:15 am. - We received word from Huber Heights police that they possibly have video of our suspect.
Right now, the search continues. Based on this video we have now, we have additional information to be able to proceed forward in this case. I'm going to turn this over to Deputy Chief Weir, so he can give you some additional information.
Deputy Chief - As Chief Bryant said, we had officers respond to the area, patrol officers. They had a couple of obstacles to overcome right away. One of which was that the vehicle did not have a license plate and that the victim, in this case, the mom, had just purchased the car from a 'buy here pay here', which, it kind of muddied the waters in terms of us identifying the specific vehicle that was taken. So, our officers had to work through that. They were able to do a lot of work and get that done and were able to notify detectives. Like Chief Bryant said, they started a grid search. Officers throughout the whole city checked over a dozen addresses throughout the city that had prior connections to Miss Jackson, whether we had documented the (inaudible) report there, whether she'd lived there previously. So, officers throughout the city were assigned to this incident and had ownership of and were vested in trying to locate these children. Detectives, when they responded to the scene they contacted the Ohio State Patrol about the Amber Alert. We finally got that issued and that went out state wide. And, like was said, the helicopters been involved. Neighbouring agencies have been involved. Obviously, once the Dayton connection was established, that Western and South Western Ohio, has been very active and have been very supportive in helping us out in trying to locate these children. We were able to locate and identify several connections that Miss Jackson had in the Dayton community. The people over there have been very supportive and very cooperative with our investigation and Dayton PD and the departments around Dayton have been extremely helpful with us. So, we are extremely appreciative of that and we are continuing to look upon that collaboration and support as we continue to look for these children.
Reporter - Where is Miss Jackson from?. Is she a Columbus woman or a Dayton.. ?.
Deputy Chief - She is from Columbus.
Reporter - And is she a known person to the police department?. Any criminal history?.
Deputy Chief - She does have a criminal history through us. I believe, misdemeanour offences, but she has had several arrests through Columbus Police.
Reporter - You mentioned that the 911 call came in at 9:45 pm. The Amber Alert wasn't issued until 11:45, so.. ?
Deputy Chief - Yeah, we contacted the Ohio State Patrol about the Amber Alert at 11:45.
Reporter - So, can you explain what the lag was and why you couldn't put an Amber Alert out without a license plate?. Is that protocol?. Or was that a judgement call?.
Deputy Chief - There was some back and forth, I think, with us talking to the state about what the requirements were for the Amber Alert. And, obviously, it's a unique circumstance when there's no license plate. In addition, we were trying to verify the VIN number of the vehicle. So there were some obstacles that we had to go through with that, but at the end of the day we, obviously, pushed forward that our position was that we needed the Amber Alert and it was necessary in this case, and then Ohio State Patrol put it out.
Reporter - When I spoke to the Grandmother, she told me she was furious that Amber Alerts were not put out earlier, despite their plea and she said that gave the suspect that much more time to leave the city without anybody knowing. How do you respond to the family's concerns about that?.
Deputy Chief - I would say that I understand her concerns and, obviously, I think that in a perfect world, we would love to have had it out a little bit earlier, but that our officers did the best they could, dealing with the chaotic scene and going through the steps they needed to go through. And, obviously, our investigators considered it a top priority to get the Amber Alert out and were very adamant that that needed to be the next step in the investigation and we were able to make it happen.
Reporter - Nalah Jackson has previously been arrested for child endangerment with intent to cause harm. Is this child in danger?.
Deputy Chief - Yes. In all fairness, yes. We consider this child to be in danger. That's why we're expending the resources we are and we are asking for the communities help and this is a cry for help. We are asking for the community to come forward and help us locate this child.
Reporter - Did she know those kids previously or.. ?
Deputy Chief - We don't have any indication that that's a fact in this case. At this point we we are dealing with the fact that she had no knowledge of who the mom was and/or the kids.
Reporter - Chief, you mention there was a lapse in executive leadership. Does that pertain to the delay in putting the Amber Alert out?.
Chief - No. The work was absolutely being done by the Columbus Division of Police. The communication lapse is in regards to the executive team and our notification. So, that's something that we're addressing on our end.
Reporter - So, you weren't aware this was going on?.
Chief - I was not.
Reporter - Was Nalah Jackson (
inaudible) a person of interest (
inaudible) suspect. Why.?
Chief - Because there was additional information, through investigative work, that gave us that ability to make that determination.
Reporter - Are you able to share what it was?.
Chief - Right at this time, we're not going to necessarily give you all that information. We want to make sure that we are able to do our investigation and have it preserved and be able to do what we need to do moving forward.
Reporter - (
inaudible) said (
inaudible) might have caught her on video. Do you believe she's in the Dayton area at this point and may still have the baby?.
Chief - We don't know. Which is why we're putting the plea out and asking for any information. I'll give that number again. If anyone has any information, anyone, as small as you may think this information is 614-645-4701. Our main priority, right now, is to have Kason returned home.
Reporter - You said Chief 'no questions asked, even if she is a suspect'. You would be willing to say 'drop her off, we'll come to you. We'll take the baby and deal with the aftermath later'. Is that what you're sort of implying?.
Chief - Right now, our concern is to get the baby. We want to make sure Kason is safe. That is our number one priority. Clearly, we're concerned about everything, but we want to make sure that we bring that baby home to their family.
Reporter - Can you talk about the car. Did it crash?. Is that what caused the damage?.
Chief - No. My understanding is that damage was there, prior to. So, there was already damage to the vehicle.
Reporter - You mentioned that she was on video tape. Where was it?. When?. What was she doing in those hours?.
Chief - For the integrity of the investigation we're not going to get too deep into the woods. We just know that there was a sighting at this particular location and so we want to make sure that we're able to follow up and do the things that we need to do to make sure our investigation is complete.
Reporter - Do you believe she's still driving this car?.
Chief - We don't know. We don't know any information. If someone has information about even the vehicle, where it may be located, even if it's in an alley or somewhere, we need to know that.
Reporter - Is there any reason to believe that Nalah Jackson knew the kids were in the back seat?. Or did she just see a car that was (
inaudible)?.
Chief - We don't know and maybe she didn't. She did give Kyair and, you know, put him in a location where we were able to find him. So, we're pleading, and we're hoping that she will do the same thing for Kason.
Reporter - Is it possible Kason is somewhere else and nobody's found him?.
Chief - It's possible. Which is why we're pleading for anybody to be vigilant to make sure that you're paying attention. Even if you think it's something that's not a big deal. It could be a baby blanket, a car seat, anything that you may find. Please notify us so that we can follow up on that.
Reporter - When Kyair was found was he checked out by medics?. (
inaudible) airport. Was he ok?.
Chief - I don't have any information in regards to that, but I know that he was returned safely. So, he was returned, yes.
Reporter - Was he reunited with his parents?.
Chief - I'm pretty sure that if Kyair was found that his mom and his family is definitely wherever he is, at this moment.
Reporter - Chief. The connections you made about Nalah Jackson - Can you speak to whatever the community would need to know about her state of mind, in so far as, if they see this woman that seems like it could be her - What do you think her state of mind is right now?.
Chief - We're concerned. She, obviously, has took 2, five month olds. So, we're concerned and we want to make sure that we put that out there that, even for her, we're concerned for her. Please return the baby. Allow us to have that communication with you. Find out what's going on. But we don't think that maybe.. if she didn't know the babies were in the back of the vehicle, this would be a great time to step forward, bring Kason home.
Reporter - Chief, have you talked to her family?. Has she reached out to them?. Has she talked to any family members or friends?.
Chief - Not that we're aware of. Again, we've been beating the pavement and trying to find locations where she may be. So, at this point we don't have any communication.
Reporter - You mentioned the video - that it's important. You're not sharing that with us at this point. Is that right?.
Chief - Yes. Not at this point.
Reporter - At the Dayton airport, I would have to imagine there are lots of cameras there. Is there footage of her dropping off Kyair or... ?.
Chief - We do have footage.
Reporter - Is that helpful?. Would you share that?. It would be helpful for people to see some of that I suppose?.
Deputy Chief - We are going through... we do believe that there is.. we have seen video of a little bit from the airport. We are trying to locate other cameras that may be closer, have a better angle. Our investigators that went to Dayton were able to view that and, obviously, we're going to get hard copies and everything like that. As we move forward, that'll be part of the investigation.
Reporter - Can I ask real quick and this maybe more for you Deputy Chief. The idea that she drops off one child. That is a very perplexing thing to my mind. From an investigative standpoint, what does that say to you at this moment?.
Deputy Chief - Obviously, I think that's a troubling aspect to this case. In talking to the commander over at special victims and our other leadership team, that is a troubling aspect. And, it's like, perplexing as to why that would be. And, obviously, we can all let our imaginations run wild, but we have to deal with what the facts are and the facts are - we're still looking for one child.
Reporter - (
inaudible) Do you actually see the mother walk in?. Do you see the suspect leave (
inaudible)?.
Deputy Chief - I did not. I know Sgt. Bennett was at the scene.
Sgt. - The video footage was not able to be accessed at the time and the angles of the video did not show much from the outside of the front of the store.
Reporter - What is the video from Huber Heights Police?. Are we talking about a flock camera, a surveillance video?.
Deputy Chief - It is not a flock camera. it's from a business and, like I said, I think that our detectives are also looking at that, getting the hard copy, seeing if we can clean the video up and what we can ascertain and what we can learn from that video. I will say this - the video we have from Huber Heights is from prior to the child being dropped off at the airport. So, our last sighting was at approximately 4:30 when that child was dropped off at the airport.
Reporter - Chief, with all due respect, you talk about the communication breakdown. Why is it when you have a 5 month old baby missing your department says a life is in danger. Why wait this long before you all are holding a press conference about this matter?.
Chief - I will tell you, again. CPD was doing the work that they needed to do. Unfortunately, and it's something that we're looking at internally, there was a lapse in communication. Had I known, we would have had the press conference last night or early this morning and that's just a reality. I'm not going to hide it. I'm not going sugar coat it, but that doesn't mean that the team wasn't doing the work. They were working diligently. They were doing all the things. When I did come in, when I did get briefed I was very relieved that those things were being put in place and the work was being done. We just have to do a better job in making sure that that communication is conveyed.
Reporter - Is Jackson's biological child in her custody?.
Chief - I don't have that information.
Reporter - Any indication that Nalah Jackson and Kason Thomass are out of the State of Ohio?.
Chief - We don't have that information either. We're hopeful that we're able to locate them, but at this point we don't know.
Reporter - This communication breakdown at the executive level. Was that what led to this four hours between a child reported missing and the Amber Alert being issued?.
Chief - No. There were command staff that were involved. So, that was not a breakdown in regards to that. That was more an administrative function between two agencies that were trying to work that out and get the information out. So, that was not the breakdown or lapse in communication.
Reporter - So, Columbus to Dayton, and this again maybe for the investigative side. She's got connections in Dayton but she's from Columbus. That's still a drive to the airport. How did she end up there?.
Deputy Chief - I apologise. I don't know that and that'll be something our lead detective will be trying to track down, over the next 12/24/48 hrs. The number one priority, like Chief Bryant said, is that we need to find this child and hopefully find this child safe and return him to his parents.
Reporter - How much emergency is there, considering you guys (inaudible) Friday, negative temperatures. You've got a 5 month old, we know he's in a onesie. We don't know where she is. What is the sense of urgency like for you?.
Deputy Chief - It's tremendous. I think we were all relieved and took the fact that Kyair was found quickly, because even though it's not single digits outside. At 4 in the morning it's still cold and how quickly would a baby get hyperthermia out in the cold, in the elements like that?. So, we are extremely worried and it is with a tremendous sense of urgency that we're operating at this point.
Reporter - So, then why did it take 4 hours for an Amber Alert?.
Chief - So, again. Initially the request was asked by a Sgt. and then it was bumped up when the request was not filled and to a command staff level, more of an executive level. So, at that point they got involved and were able to get that done. That's one of those things that we're going to be looking at. That's one of those things about communication, even with Ohio State Patrol. We're going to be having conversations, but at the end of the day we were able to issue the Amber Alert. Ideally we would have loved to have done it 5 minutes after the incident occurred, so those are some of the things that we have to talk about.
Thank you.
