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Man In Custody, But Search Goes On For 3-Year-Old Abducted From Birthday Party
Kamille "Cupcake" McKinney's dad, Dominic, said, "She’s scared, she’s lonely, she doesn’t know what’s going on," as the search for his 3-year-old continued.
Authorities have taken a person of interest into custody, after a 3-year-old girl was kidnapped from a birthday party in Alabama Saturday night, but the young girl remains missing.
Kamille McKinney, affectionately known to her family as “Cupcake,” disappeared Saturday night around 8:30 p.m. while she was playing outside with some other children.
Shortly after the 3-year-old disappeared, Birmingham police released images and a description of a Toyota Sequoia that was seen in the area. Authorities said a white woman and black man were believed to have been traveling in the SUV, and had been enticing children with candy, local station WVTM reports.
The vehicle was later spotted Sunday night at the Woodside Condominiums, and authorities quickly descended on the area — taking a man Birmingham Police identified as a “person of interest” into custody.
“I feel a little better that they got him, but the search goes on, because Cupcake still isn’t home,” her distraught father, Dominic McKinney, told AL.com. “We’re still not stopping. I feel better that they caught him, I do, but until I see that baby, they can catch him all day. We will find her tonight.”
McKinney said he got a call around 8:50 p.m. on Saturday, telling him his young daughter had been abducted. He rushed to the scene and searched throughout the night for the girl, searching abandoned buildings and schools in the area, the outlet reported.
“I won’t stop,” the father of four said. “If anybody sees my Cupcake, please bring me my Cupcake back home. She’s got a lot of people who care about her.”
McKinney said he has no idea why somebody would have taken his daughter, who he described as sweet and lovable.
“She’s scared, she’s lonely, she doesn’t know what’s going on,” he said. “She’s just a baby. Whatever the situation is, whatever they’ve got going on, it don’t concern her.”
Witnesses described seeing a woman put the young girl into a dark colored SUV before the vehicle drove away. Authorities later released images and a description of a 2001-2006 blue-green Toyota Sequoia with tan or brown trim, and images captured of the person of interest, WVTM reports.
Ricardo McGhee said he called police after he and a neighbor saw the vehicle parked outside the Woodside Condominiums, according to AL.com. Authorities soon arrived at the scene and took a man and his girlfriend — a black female — into custody for questioning.
McGhee said the man had only lived in the building for a short time.
“I don’t know him personally,” he told the news outlet. “But, it’s bugging me, because I have a child that was just born on Labor Day, and he obviously was looking for a child.”
Authorities continue to search for Kamille, who remains missing.
She was last seen wearing a pink shirt with a leopard print Mickey Mouse face, leopard print shorts and no shoes, according to the FBI, which is assisting with the investigation. She is described as being 3 feet tall and weighing 60 pounds. Authorities say she has black hair and brown eyes.
“An abduction like this, a child just being taken off the street, is in no way common to the city of Birmingham,’’ Birmingham Deputy Police Chief Scott Praytor said, according to AL.com. “We’re trying to make sure we get this child back to her family.”
Praytor said authorities believe the young girl may be in danger and have enlisted the help of both the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service to aid in the search effort.
“We’re pulling out all the stops to find out what happened to Kamille,” he said.
