Children abandoned at Calhoun truck stop reunited with their grandmother

Kelcey Caulder, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.
·2 min read

Nov. 22—Three young children found abandoned at a Calhoun, Georgia, truck stop Sunday have since been reunited with their grandmother.

The children, all from Atlanta, were dropped off at the Love's truck stop at 1081 Belwood Road in Calhoun at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to police reports confirmed by Calhoun Police Chief Tony Pyle in a call with the Times Free Press on Monday morning.

"We got a call and were told three young kids had been dropped off. A lady left them with a note that said they'd been kidnapped. She left them with employees and told them to take them, then she left," Pyle said.

The woman who dropped them off knew the children, Pyle said, and was a family member. He did not share any further information concerning her identity because of the ongoing investigation but confirmed that the Tennessee State Patrol pulled her over Sunday and had returned her to Calhoun for questioning.

"There was a phone number on the letter that she left. This was a family member's number. Our local [Division of Family & Children Services] office determined it was safe to turn them over to that family member, so we did do that," Pyle said. "That family member was their grandmother."

The kids are all from Atlanta. So far, Pyle said law enforcement officers are not sure whether there was an actual kidnapping attempt or if something else happened that might have led up to the events of Sunday afternoon.

"We are still early in the investigation so we are trying to see if there actually was a kidnapping attempt or if it was something else. We know it wasn't a custodial issue with the parents, so at this point we're not sure what really led to this," he said.

Pyle said the department hoped to have more answers by Friday.

"We are glad we were able to reunite them with their family," he said. "That's always the best outcome, you know, and we're glad they are safe."

Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.