SOUTH LEBANON, Ohio – A mother and her toddler who were missing for days were found safe in Florida, Warren County deputies said.
Kallie Carnes, 20, and her 22-month-old son, Grant, were missing since last Wednesday morning. She shut down her Facebook page, turned off her phone and left a note for her mother saying she was leaving.
Deputies in Alachua County, Florida located Carnes and Grant a week later, Warren County deputies said. No charges will be filed in the case, they said.
Family members said Carnes may have been going to see her father.
Carnes and the child were still in custody. A decision on where to send them had not yet been made.
The Warren County Sheriff's Office had earlier called it a "critical missing case," and the family and the sheriff's office are asking for the public's help to find them.
Kallie's mother, Erica Baker, said there was a note on her nightstand when she got home.
"It basically said for me not to worry, that they had to go, that she needed to do this for her and try to get her crap straight, and that she loved me and that she was sorry that I didn't get to say goodbye to Grant."
But Baker was worried and so was the sheriff's office.
"Based on the fact that she's been missing for several days at this point, she's not been heard from by family or friends, this causes not only concern to them but also causes concern to the Warren County Sheriff's Office," said Major Brian Tinch.
They think Carnes and her son may be with 20-year-old Josh Craft, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault of Grant and now has a no-contact order with the child.
"We did confirm that there was a case that has been disposed of through Lebanon Municipal Court from Dec. of 2015 where the child was a victim in that case and Mr. Craft being responsible for it," Tinch said.
Harsher charges were possible, but the records show that Carnes did not cooperate with police and the prosecutor's office.
