Police: Parents in custody after leaving 3 kids home alone

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Police say they're relieved an 8-month-old girl has been found safe hours after her parents reported her missing.

For about two hours Sunday afternoon, police shut down the Marquis Pointe Apartments as they searched for the baby girl whose parents reported her missing from her crib.

"They said they were outside for just a few minutes and then somehow the 8-month-old was missing," said DeKalb Police Lt. Joseph Artime.

Neighbors who couldn't enter or exit the complex say panic spread quickly among residents, as police searched door to door for the missing child.

"All you can do is hope and pray that they find the baby and he's safe," said neighbor Alfonso Araujo.

Turns out, the baby was OK. A couple of hours into the search, detectives learned the baby had been in the safe company of an aunt who took her after finding the 8-month-old alone in the family's apartment with her 2 and 6-year-old siblings.

"She knew that the 8-month-old cannot take care of itself, so she took the child," said Artime.

Both parents are now in police custody. The father tried to tell Swann he was only gone a few minutes.

"I stepped outside to the back of the apartment," he said.

He said someone came over and got the baby out of the house. But police cut Swann's interview short. Neighbors said they're relieved, but also angered by the whole ordeal.

"It angers me. How can you leave an 8-month-old baby alone and you step out?" Araujo said.

Police say those parents will face charges. All three of their children are now in state custody.

WSBTV