ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Amber Alert was canceled for 1-year-old Marcus Lyles after he was found safe in Orange County.
The Amber Alert was issued around 8:30 p.m. Sunday and within two hours, they updated the public to say the baby had been found safely.
Lyles was located thanks to a tip called in by a person that saw the Amber Alert, according to a release from the Orange County Sheriff's Office
The report went on to say that just before midnight on Saturday, May 7, Lyles was in the car with his father's girlfriend, 20-year-old Kira Lawson, at the Westgate Lakes Resort on Turkey Lake Road in Orlando when Lawson drove off with the child without the father's permission.
Lawson is currently in custody and the investigation is ongoing, according to the department. She is facing a charge of kidnapping a minor under 13-years-of-age without consent.
How the Amber Alert works
Not every missing child case meets the bar of an Amber Alert.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, there are five criteria that need to be met first:
- The child is under 18.
- Law enforcement needs to believe the child was kidnapped.
- They need a “well-founded believe” through investigation that the child is in imminent danger of death or bodily harm.
- They have a detailed description of the child and or the abductor/vehicle to share with the public.
- The law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction needs to recommend activating an Amber Alert.