Babysitter Charged After Two Girls Rescued From Trailer
Atlanta police used bolt cutters to enter a locked trailer and pull two sisters to safety Monday. The suspect, Lakesha Brown, 42, was inside the trailer with the children.
- 4-year-old Zola Cooper and 11-month-old Norah Cooper had been missing nearly two days.
- 97-degree heat, no air conditioning, and no windows made the trailer uninhabitable, investigators said.
- Brown allegedly used the same Facebook-group tactic in a 2021 Alabama newborn kidnapping.
- Brown's $100,000 Alabama bond is now subject to revocation; extradition proceedings are underway.
Why it matters: The mother, Elicia Redding, said she met Brown through a Facebook group for expectant mothers and trusted her after a year of friendship. She was unaware Brown was awaiting trial for a prior kidnapping.
- Police describe Brown's approach as an "identical" pattern: join online mothers' groups, build trust, then take children.
How 12 sources split on this story
Law and Crime12hBarefoot 12-year-old girl kidnapped at sleepover by friend's uncle and forced into the woods before fleeing and hiding in a ditch: CopsWAWSB-TV Atlanta5hKidnapping suspect faces new charges after investigators say pregnancy was fakedAli11Alive (WXIA)9h'You gotta get to them': Atlanta officers describe moments of rescuing kidnapped sisters, arresting babysitterFAFOX 5 Atlanta13hKidnapping suspect focus of Paulding County welfare check in 2025TNDThe National Desk9hBodycam video shows police entering trailer, discovering kidnapped children, babysitterWNCWFLA News Channel 810hWATCH: Babysitter accused of kidnapping after police find her with missing children in trailerWSWSAV Savannah11h2 girls rescued after reported kidnapping, man arrested in Bulloch CountyLeft coverage, 2 sources: The left leads with the bodycam footage and the mother's words, centering the emotional experience of the family and the conditions the children endured.
Right coverage, 3 sources: The right emphasizes Brown's prior case and the repeated use of social media to target mothers, framing it as a pattern that authorities failed to stop.
New York Post13hDramatic bodycam shows cops rescuing young girls allegedly snatched by fake babysitter
Daily Mail8hIncredible moment two young girls are rescued from sweltering trailer after being abducted by babysitter
Fox News11hTwo missing children rescued from trailer as police arrest babysitter on kidnapping chargesWhat’s next: Brown waived her first court appearance Tuesday and is held without bond in Fulton County Jail.
- Alabama prosecutors are seeking extradition after Brown failed to appear for her May trial.
- Brown could not give police a reason for not returning the children — her motive remains unexplained.
- Whether charges in both states will be prosecuted simultaneously or sequentially has not been determined.