A desperate search for two missing Atlanta sisters ended with a chilling clue. Police say the sound of a crying baby helped lead officers to 11-month-old Norah Cooper and 4-year-old Zola Cooper after they were allegedly taken by their babysitter.
According to Atlanta News First, the girls were found Monday, August 17, at the Gateway South Apartment Complex on Sylvan Road. Police located them with suspect Lakesha Brown inside a trailer.
The sisters were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for evaluation before being released to their family. During the police press conference, officials confirmed the outcome their family had been desperately hoping for: “Right now the children are in good health.” The press conference was also shared by the Atlanta Police Department on Facebook.
It was a crying baby that finally gave police the break
The ordeal began after the girls’ mother, Elica Redding, left them with Brown while she went out to dinner on August 15. Redding had met Brown through a mothers’ group online about a year earlier and said they became friends.
“She became a family friend from when I first met her on a mom group and she posted about giving free services for expecting moms. That’s how I met her, and after that we just started hanging,” said Redding.
When Brown failed to return with the children, Redding tried contacting her before reporting the girls missing. Lt. Christapher Butler said the mother believed she had trusted Brown with her children.
“The mother thought she was leaving her children in the care of someone she could trust,” said Butler. “She’d gone out and there was some information that the suspect gave alluding to the fact that she was returning the children, which turned out not to be factual, so that’s what led to the delay of the 911 call.”
An Amber Alert was issued for the sisters. It included a white Ford F-350 with Alabama plate ICO87Y4. Investigators also used cellphone data to narrow the search.
At the apartment complex, officers heard a baby crying near the suspect’s trailer. They then found Brown and both girls.
Before the rescue, Redding shared what she wanted most. “Hug them. I’m gonna hug them. I think they’re hungry, so I’m gonna feed them. I don’t know, I just want them back,” said Redding. This relief was also shared in another case when the FBI located a missing Florida teen 1,200 miles from home.
Brown is facing a kidnapping charge and will not receive bond. Police also say she was arrested in Birmingham in 2021 over the alleged kidnapping of a 4-day-old baby. She has an outstanding Alabama warrant for failing to appear in court.
Jefferson County District Attorney Lynneice Washington said, “It’s sad. It’s scary and it’s sad. My heart goes out to the mother of those babies.” While Redding was able to bring her children home safely, other families are still waiting for answers, including Sudiksha Konanki’s.
Washington added, “This is unacceptable, whether it’s in Georgia or Alabama. We have laws that are used to protect our children, and we also have laws that when they are violated, those adults have to be held accountable.”
Published: Aug 18, 2026 07:45 pm