Two moms created an elaborate plan to rescue missing Ohio baby — and it worked

Police say two resourceful moms in Indiana were involved in the rescue of a missing Ohio infant and the arrest of his accused kidnapper.

On Dec. 22, a woman named Nalah Jackson was arrested by Indianapolis police for allegedly stealing a Honda Accord containing 5-month-old twins Kason and Kyair Thomas.

According to local police, the children's mother had parked outside Donatos Pizza in Columbus, Ohio, leaving her children in the car while she retrieved a DoorDash order on Dec. 19. Jackson had been inside the restaurant and exited when the twins' mom walked in, restaurant employees said.

In the early hours of Dec. 20, an Amber Alert was issued and police soon received a call that Kyair had been found abandoned but safe near the Dayton International Airport in Ohio. His brother, however, remained missing.

That's when Indiana moms and cousins Shyann Delmar and Mecka Curry entered the picture. Although Delmar and Curry did not immediately reply to a request for comment from TODAY.com, the women detailed what happened in 16 separate videos on Curry's TikTok account.

In one of the videos, Delmar says she met Jackson on Dec. 20 at an Indianapolis gas station, where Jackson allegedly was selling toys outside. Not knowing that Jackson was the suspect in the kidnapping, Delmar purchased toys from her, then gave her a ride to a local plaza. That night, Delmar also got Jackson's phone number.

It was only later when Delmar saw Jackson's mugshot on Facebook that she realized who had been in her car. Delmar called her cousin Curry for help, and the women launched their "detective work" while maintaining communication with the authorities.

The women said they reached Jackson by phone, pretending to want to purchase more items from her and arranging to meet on a street corner.

Delmar and Curry said Jackson asked them to drive her around town. Later, while stopped at a store, Curry said she communicated with law enforcement over the phone.

Police met up with the women in another part of town, pulling them over and arresting Jackson.

But where was baby Kason?

Delmar and Curry said they decided to search for the infant themselves, eventually tracking down the missing Honda in a parking lot near a Papa John's in Indianapolis. Inside the car was Kason, wearing the same clothes he'd had on three days earlier.

"The only thing that was wrong with the baby was (that) his diaper needed to be changed," said Curry.

"He was just so cute," added Delmar.

In a Dec. 22 Facebook post, police shared that Kason was found "in good health" and taken to a hospital for observation. Jackson was charged with two counts of felony kidnapping. She also was charged with battery of bodily waste, police said.

In a Facebook video shared by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Sgt. Shawn Anderson, Anderson said he was "amazed" at how well Kason was doing considering how long he had been missing.

"Holding him was one of the best feelings I've had in my career," he said.

Sgt. Jeff Mooney of the Columbus Division of the Police in Ohio tells TODAY.com that the investigation of the kidnapping is still ongoing, so "there are not many details that can be released." Mooney did confirm this much about the case, however: "I can confirm that Ms. Delmar and Ms. Curry were involved in the apprehension of Ms. Jackson and the recovery of baby Kason in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 22, 2022."

The twins' grandmother, LaFonda Thomas, says she is thankful to Delmar and Curry for helping to bring little Kason home.

"Mecka and Shyy — I appreciate you, my family appreciates you,” she told News 5 Cleveland. “What you guys did, it took courage.”

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This article was originally published on TODAY.com