An Amber Alert Washington search for a 13-year-old girl from Baxley, Georgia, ended Friday after authorities found her safe at a motel in Jacksonville. The alert was issued Thursday under Levi’s Call in Georgia and was canceled after the teen was located.
Giavonnie Carter and Johnathan Kelly were charged in connection with the case, while Carter also faces aggravated assault and other offenses. The Baxley Police Department said the girl was forcefully taken from her home, and police said Carter did not have legal custody of the teen.
Georgia alert on Thursday
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued the Amber Alert around 2 p.m. Thursday. The Baxley Police Department said it received a call that the teen had been forcefully taken from her home. It also said Carter, the teen’s biological mother, was banging on the door of a home on James Drive with a knife in her hand.
The release said Carter and Kelly entered the home and took the teen. That detail turned the case into a fast-moving search across Georgia and Jacksonville, with the first hours driving the response more than any later court step.
Scottish Inn search
At around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation spotted a vehicle believed to be involved at the Scottish Inn on Phillips Highway. By 9:35 p.m., authorities executed a search warrant and found the teen safe.
Joseph, a Scottish Inn worker, described the scene to News4JAX: “I just saw big SWAT trucks coming in and they surrounded the guy. He tried to take off, ran into the building,” He added, “It all happened within two minutes. I mean, it was crazy,”
Friday cancellation
Friday’s cancellation closed the alert, but the criminal case did not end there. Carter and Kelly face kidnapping and home invasion charges, and Kelly also faces probation violation and additional offenses by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
For readers following the case, the immediate emergency has ended; the remaining question is how the teen ended up at the motel in Jacksonville before authorities found her there.
