A North Carolina mother recalled her husband seizing their young baby while holding a machete in his hand, and pleaded for her daughter’s safe return.
She wasn’t there at the time but watched live surveillance footage showing Christopher Williams set their clothes on fire in the backyard of the family’s home before grabbing the baby and knocking out the security cameras over the weekend.
“I get an alert on my phone and I look live and see my husband dragging all of my things out to the backyard and lighting them aflame,” mother Raven Williams told WTVD.
“I see my husband on camera still standing in the backyard with police officers in the front yard. Moments after with a machete in his hands and my daughter on his hip he slices the cameras.”
A Fayetteville mom is pleading for the return of her one year old daughter, Amani; after she says her husband set their stuff on fire & left with their baby in one hand and a machete in the other. The disturbing video all new at 4/5, plus more on the investigation. #abc11 pic.twitter.com/sxXXHBPjss
— Morgan Norwood (@MorganABC11) July 16, 2019
Christopher Williams was able to elude police and still hasn’t been found. A police official said that a search is being conducted but said, “There’s not an active search for the child as much as there is a search for Mr. Williams.”
The official, Lt. Gary Womble, said the situation didn’t meet the criteria for an Amber Alert.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, guidelines for issuing Amber Alerts include the requirement that law enforcement confirms an abduction.
“This is essential when determining the level of risk to the child. Clearly, stranger abductions are the most dangerous for children and thus are primary to the mission of an Amber Alert,” it said.
“Each case must be appraised on its own merits and a judgment call made quickly. Law enforcement must understand that a ‘best judgment’ approach, based on the evidence, is appropriate and necessary,” it added.
“Plans require a child be at risk for serious bodily harm or death before an alert can be issued. This element is clearly related to law enforcement’s recognition that stranger abductions represent the greatest danger to children. The need for timely, accurate information based on strict and clearly understood criteria is critical, again keeping in mind the ‘best judgment’ approach.”
“For an Amber Alert to be effective in recovering a missing child, the law enforcement agency must have enough information to believe that an immediate broadcast to the public will enhance the efforts of law enforcement to locate the child and apprehend the suspect,” the department added.
Some states have different requirements in terms of the age of the children, the department noted.
— Morgan Norwood (@MorganABC11) July 16, 2019
Parental Kidnapping
According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, approximately 200,000 children are kidnapped each year by a family member.
Child custody experts say that people kidnap their own children to force a reconciliation or continued interaction with the other, left-behind parent; to spite or punish the other parent; or from fear of losing custody or visitation rights.
In rare cases, the kidnapping may occur to protect a child from a parent who is believed to be abusing the child.
Common warnings signs include the other parent threatening abduction, suspected abuse, or paranoid delusion.
Missing children typically fall into five categories: kidnapped by a family member, abducted by a nonfamily perpetrator, runaways, those who got lost, stranded, or injured, or those who went missing due to benign reasons, such as misunderstandings.
