Children missing for months are found safe in the cab of dad’s semi, Michigan cops say
Four children abducted by their non-custodial father were found safe in the back of his semi-truck, Michigan cops say.
The U.S. Marshals Service only knew of one of the kidnappings when it was tasked with finding the father, Joses Braxton, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, according to a news release.
Braxton is accused of abducting one of his children in April, and investigators later discovered he also kidnapped three kids in September 2021 that he fathered with a different mother, the U.S. Marshals Service in the Eastern District of Michigan said.
Braxton is from Michigan, where all four children are also from, according to The Detroit News.
The father, a long-haul truck driver, was tracked to Riviera Beach, Florida, on Thursday, Sept. 15, the U.S. Marshals said. He was taken into custody as he was leaving a Walmart.
The four missing children ranging in ages 3 to 10 were found in the cab of the semi and will be reunited with their Michigan families, the U.S. Marshals said.
“The Marshals Service is dedicated to helping recover critically missing and endangered children,” said Owen M. Cyper, U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan. “I’m especially proud of the dedication and tenacity displayed by our investigators, as well as the speed at which they acted to ensure the safe recovery of these kids.”
Braxton had been wanted on a felony warrant for parental kidnapping. The U.S. Marshals did not say if he will face additional charges.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Watson said the children had lived in the semi-truck for a year, referring to the case as “probably one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” The Detroit News reported.
“It’s hard for me to comprehend how they went day in and day out with nobody saying anything,” Watson said. “Maybe folks don’t want to get involved. There’s a million reasons out there. But I’m just glad this story had a happy ending.”
This story was originally published September 19, 2022 at 5:55 AM with the headline "Children missing for months are found safe in the cab of dad’s semi, Michigan cops say."