Missing preschooler back in Wichita Falls father's arms Thursday
Jrue Kenner ran straight into the arms of his father, Dr. Jamaan Kenner of Wichita Falls, to get a big hug from him Thursday for the first time in five months.
The 3-year-old boy missing since June 1 was found safe Thursday morning in Louisiana, his father said.
"They called me probably at 7 o'clock this morning and told me that they had gotten him," Jamaan, the custodial parent, said. "It was like a sting operation with the FBI and the U.S. Marshals."
When he got the good news, Jamaan thought, "Praise God." Next came a flurry of phone calls and preparations.
Since Jamaan came back to Texas last week to work, he called his sister in Louisiana to arrange for authorities to hand his son off to her until he could get there.
More: Wichita Falls father's search for his missing preschool-age son becomes more urgent
A physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology at United Regional Physicians Group, Jamaan caught the first flight he could get out of Dallas.
The New Orleans police detective who was on the missing person's case picked him up from the airport there, and father and son were soon reunited.
"I went straight home, and he came running out the door," Jamaan said. "You can tell that whatever he had going on, he's free to let loose."
He thinks Jrue was secluded and couldn't do much while he was missing. But the little boy ran all over the house and backyard and wore himself out Thursday.
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“I was worried about how he was going to receive me," Jamaan said Thursday evening in a telephone interview. "But he hasn't missed a beat.”
He said his son has gotten a lot bigger and taller since he last saw him.
His search for Jrue became more urgent in recent weeks because the child's mother, Jaime Ann Johnston, was arrested and jailed. Jamaan did not know where his son was.
He and the child's mother have been engaged in an ongoing custody dispute, but he is the custodial parent. She failed to return the boy to Jamaan as scheduled.
Jrue was found with his maternal grandparents, Jamaan said. Now they are in jail, as well as her boyfriend.
Jaime, 31, was arrested Sept. 29 and was being held Thursday in the Orleans Parish Jail on three warrants, including one out of Texas, according to online jail records.
Gerard E. Johnston, 73, and Phyllis P. Johnston, 66, were booked in to jail Thursday on one charge each of simple kidnapping. Reginald D. Harrison, 32, was booked in to jail Thursday on a charge of principal to a simple kidnapping.
Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Missing son back in Wichita Falls father's arms
