KEY POINTS

  • The children were inside the car a homeless woman stole from their mother Monday
  • They were found in separate places Tuesday and Thursday, respectively
  • The suspect was charged with two counts of kidnapping, child endangerment and vehicle theft

A 5-month-old Ohio boy, who went missing with his twin brother after the car they were in was stolen by a homeless woman, was found safe Thursday in Indiana, authorities said.

The children were in the vehicle parked outside a restaurant in Columbus on Monday when the theft took place. Their mother had briefly stepped away to receive a food order when the suspect drove off from the spot in her car with her children -- Kason and Kyair Thomas -- inside it, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Kason and his brother Kyair were the subjects of an AMBER Alert issued Monday after their disappearance.

Kyair was found Tuesday at around 4:45 a.m. abandoned in a parking lot at Dayton International Airport, more than 70 miles from Columbus.

Kason was found near a Papa John's inside the same car the suspect, Nalah Jackson, 24, stole from their mother. The child was in the same clothes he was wearing Monday, according to WBNS-TV.

On Thursday, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officials were at a restaurant at 955 Indiana Avenue when a woman went up to them to say she saw a child alone inside a car.

The police then found out the missing car had been in the Papa John's parking lot for about two days, according to Columbus Dispatch. The authorities said the child was in good health and was breathing normally, but was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Jackson's arrest was made at around 2 p.m. Thursday by the IMPD officers after surveillance footage captured her in the Dayton Airport parking lot with Kyair, and the police received several tips about her presence in the state, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant during a news conference, according to Wish Tv.

Bryant said Jackson will face federal charges since she crossed state lines. "It will absolutely be a federal investigation," she said.

Jackson was charged with two counts of kidnapping and will likely face additional charges, including child endangerment and vehicle theft.

The twins' paternal grandmother, Fonda Thomas, told The Dispatch that she was relieved the children were found. "My tears have turned to joy," she said.

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