BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) — Two are in custody Monday for taking two Bay County children to Milwaukee, Wisconsin without their mother’s knowledge, Bay County deputies said.
According to a news release by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a call from the mother of the missing children, stating that Dekarsen, 2, and Delyla Middleton, 1, had been taken out of state by a friend.
Deputies state that the woman reported that Adalyn Jean Burkett, 18, was supposed to babysit her children overnight on June 23. Burkett was permitted to use the mother’s vehicle as long as it was returned on the morning of June 24.
BCSO Criminal Investigations was notified of the incident and it was learned that Burkett was also accompanied by Marquan L. Edwards, 22, from Milwaukee, WI the night of June 23, and confirmed that the two were in Milwaukee.
An arrest warrant was obtained and information was sent to the Milwaukee Police Department, and a missing child alert was issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
When Burkett and Edwards learned of the alert, they attempted to drop off both children in a public park. Investigators believed they wanted to distance themselves from the investigation and possible arrest. The children were found on the evening of June 25.
On June 26, United States Marshals located and arrested Burkett and Edwards at a residence in Milwaukee, Burkett for the warrant of interference with child custody and grand theft of an automobile and Edwards for interference with child custody.
The Milwaukee Police Department is currently investigating the suspects for leaving the children in the park.
