4-month-old kid taken at gunpoint by her father is missing

A’miyah Jones, a four-month-old baby girl from Detroit, was abducted at gunpoint by her own father on Christmas Eve. Police are still looking for her.

The Detroit Police Department reported that A’miyah and her mother were visiting a relative in the 900 block of Webb at around 2 p.m. when her father, identified as JaQuan Jones, arrived.

THREATENING WITH A GUN

JaQuan was not alone as he got into the house with his twin brother. Once there, the father of the girl pulled out a weapon and, at gunpoint, took the baby from her mother. After that, the suspect left the scene to an “unknown direction.”

Police added that he was probably driving a blue Chrysler 200 and urged people to call the Detroit Police Department’s Third Precinct at 313-596-1300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP if they have any information.

So far, an AMBER Alert has not been issued as Detroit police considered that it was not a child abduction case because A’miyah was taken by his father. The baby was listed as a “serious missing person,” though.

DOROTHY BARNETT’S CASE

Unfortunately, it is not the first time that a parent kidnaps their own child. Back in 1994, Dorothy Lee Barnett lost custody of her daughter, Savanna, so she took the girl and “vanished” for more than two decades.

Dorothy changed her daughter’s name to Samantha and remained hidden the entire time. More than 20 years later, she revealed the reason for her drastic decision: the girl's father.

THE REASON SHE DID IT

At court, the man told the jury that he believed Dorothy was mentally ill, and that he was considering sending his daughter to a mental institution if she showed signs of having inherited the condition.

After that, mother and daughter started a world trip that took them from South Carolina in the US to France, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, before settling down in Australia, where the girl’s name finally changed to Samantha.

One of the most striking aspects of this case is that Dorothy got fake documents, changed her hair color and haircut, and even made her daughter pass for a baby boy named Nick at the airport. FBI agent Chris Quick said that Dorothy successfully went fugitive because she cut all ties from everyone.

Dorothy was eventually found after a long international investigation due to a mistake: she revealed her secret to a person in Australia who contacted Samantha’s father. In 2013, she was sentenced to 21 months in prison and was released in 2015.