Carthage Police Department rescues children taken from Florida day care

 

An Orlando, Florida woman was charged today with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and is being held in the Jasper County Jail without bond.

Alexius Neandra Baker, 28, is the mother of the three children and they were about to be removed from her custody when she took them from their day care without permission, according to the probable cause statement.

The children, six-year-old Summer Mercelin, two-year-old Jacqueline Leonard and nine-month-old Justyce Leonard, were last seen Monday, March 18 and were reported missing on March 21.

The Orlando Police Department contacted Carthage Police when it was determined Baker's phone was pinging in the Carthage city limits.

From the probable cause statement:

They requested officers check the area for the vehicle, suspect (Alexius BAKER), and her three children (Victim1, Victim2, and Victim3) who were ordered to be removed from her custody by a court order. 

It was believed BAKER picked up the children from daycare in an effort to flee the state and keep the children in her custody. 

Carthage officers arrived in the area of 2700 South Grand Ave (Wal-Mart) where they located the suspect vehicle parked approximately 500 feet from the door near the edge of the parking lot. 

Officers contacted three juveniles (Victim 1, Victim 2, and Victim 3) in the vehicle. The temperature at the time of contact was approximately 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The vehicle was not running and was cool to the touch. 

Officers observed the vehicle to be messy with items and bags filling the seats in the vehicle. Officers also noted a strong foul smell emitting from the vehicle and the children to be dirty and in clothes that were soiled. 

Officers contacted Witness 1 and Witness 2 who provided case facts and a photo of BAKER. Officers entered Walmart and made contact with BAKER and escorted her to the parking lot. Det. McMain conducted a forensic interview with Victim 1 at the Children’s Center. 

She went on to disclose during the interview her mom (BAKER) took her and her siblings from daycare and took them on a trip. She said she took her phone and threw it out the front window of the car when they were leaving Florida. She noted BAKER told them they were on TV as missing but she was going to make sure they were safe and no one would take them away from her. 

She stated it had been a long time since she or her siblings had taken a bath. She recounted eating a couple of times while on the trip. She remembered three separate occasions they ate in the two weeks.

While at the Children’s Center, the juveniles (Victim 1, Victim 2, and Victim 3) had physical exams. The nurse practitioner noted the children appeared to not have bathed in weeks. They and their clothes were covered in dirt and bodily fluids. She noted they all had upper respiratory issues due to living in a vehicle in an uncontrolled climate.