Heidi Renae Todd, Missing 4-Year-Old, Found 500 Miles Away, Abductor At Large

Authorities in Charleston, South Carolina, said they found a 4-year-old girl, who went missing Tuesday during a home invasion where her mother was found brutally beaten, in Riverside, Alabama.

The girl was safe, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg confirmed. He added a police officer in Alabama stopped a suspect and managed to get the toddler out of his vehicle, but the man fled.

"What could have been a day of great tragedy has turned out to be a day of great joy," Tecklenburg said.

Heidi Renae Todd was reported missing just before 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday. She was found around 4 p.m. EST on Wednesday in a business parking lot on Highway 78 near Depot Street in Riverside. Police were checking a vehicle when they noticed a girl inside the car, who wanted to get out. So the authorities got her out and then the driver woke up and drove away.

The driver was said to have taken off on Highway 78 toward Pell City. The authorities there attempted to get hold of him, but he fled. Police stated he was driving a blue sedan with an Illinois tag on it.

The Charleston Police Department said Todd’s mother was found badly beaten and was rushed to an area hospital after the school attended by two of her other children called the authorities reporting she did not come to the school to pick them up. A friend reportedly went to the house and found her injured.

"She is in the hospital. Apparently, she was brutally beaten and she's in reasonably fair condition under the circumstance and I understand will be undergoing some surgery. She is considered medical to be in fair condition," Mayor Tecklenburg told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Reports stated the attack took place as Todd’s father was away at Coast Guard training. Following the attack, he returned to South Carolina to be with his family.

"The woman's husband, a former firefighter, is in the Coast Guard, officials said; he was out of town for training when his daughter went missing," Tecklenburg said, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.

Earlier Wednesday morning, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division issued a statewide alert for the 4-year-old girl. The authorities were not able to issue an Amber Alert because there was a lack of information on a possible suspect connected to the incident.

South Carolina police and the FBI described the suspect as an "unwanted visitor." They released a sketch early Wednesday morning, but later said the person in the sketch was not the suspect. Later, authorities said they believe Thomas Lawton Evans, 37, was involved in the incident. Officials added Evans had prior armed robbery and second-degree burglary convictions.

Evans was described by the police as a Hispanic man with a stocky build, brown eyes, short black hair, brown eyes, and was said to be dressed in all gray. Anyone who spots Evans were asked to call 911 immediately.

The Charleston Police Department also set up a 24-hour tip line in order to gather information on sightings of Evans. Anyone with any kind of information regarding the suspect were requested to call (843) 619-6123.