Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A missing toddler at the center of a late night AMBER Alert in Knoxville is found safe.
Knoxville Police Department officials say the 2-year-old child, identified as Elton Bailey, was found inside a Ford Explorer that was originally presumed stolen Sunday evening from a home on Old State Road.
According to police, Bailey’s grandfather stopped at the home briefly and left the car running with the child inside. When the grandfather came back out, the car was gone and he assumed someone had stolen it.
After an exhaustive search, Knox County deputies found Bailey inside the vehicle, unharmed, in a muddy construction site near where the car was reported stolen.
“The Special Crimes Unit is continuing their investigation to determine if somebody did briefly attempt to steal the vehicle or if it was potentially left in gear and rolled down several ravines into the construction area where it was found,” officials said.
Multiple agencies helped with the ground search and KPD thanked the public for their help.