COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County deputies have charged a woman who they say kidnapped a three-year-old boy near Columbia early Sunday morning.
Officers said 40-year-old Atia Monay Thomas is facing one count of kidnapping n connection with the abduction that took place around 2 a.m. on Meetze Road. That's just off Broad River Road near the St. Andrews area.
Deputies said the child's mother flagged down a deputy along Broad River Road and said that her child was missing. According to investigators, they learned the child fell asleep in his father's arms and when the man woke up, his son was no longer in the home and the front door was open. The parents then immediately began searching the area.
A short time after deputies were alerted to the problem, they said another person told a different deputy that he'd seen the boy while driving down Meetze Road. The man told officer Thomas had gone up to the little boy and claimed that she knew where he lived and would bring him back to his home.
Deputies said the woman wasn't someone the family was familiar with and didn't return the child. Deputies were able to find a door cam video from a home that investigators said showing the child being carried by the woman.
The sheriff's department called additional units to the scene, including K9s, a drone, and Columbia Police officers.
During the search, deputies said the father saw the woman with his son, grabbed him away from her, and she took off in a vehicle that was being driven by an Uber driver. Family members of the boy spotted the vehicle a short time later and deputies were able to pursue it and get the driver to pull over. Deputies determined Thomas matched the description of the woman seen in the video.
Law enforcement said they discovered the woman took the child to her home, changed his clothes, and then attempted to leave the area with the little boy, which led them to file the charge. The Uber driver was determined not to be associated with Thomas and was released.