09/08/2026
Elica Redding, an Atlanta mother, met Lakesha Brown through a Facebook support group for pregnant women and new mothers. Over the course of a year, Brown offered free services and built Redding's trust, eventually becoming someone Redding felt comfortable enough with to babysit her two children, 4-year-old Zola and 11-month-old Norah.
On August 15, when Redding went to retrieve her children, Brown and both kids had vanished. Brown sent a photo of the children during the day to reassure Redding, then claimed they had been in a car accident and that DFCS had the children, before going completely silent.
After a two-day search involving Atlanta PD, the GBI, and the FBI, investigators used cell phone pinging technology to track Brown to an apartment complex in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood. Officers located a white tow trailer in the parking lot. When they banged on the doors, they heard a baby crying inside.
Officers cut the bolt off the back door and found both children and Brown sitting among blankets in a trailer with no air conditioning , only a ventilation system and a box fan — on one of the hottest days of the year, with temperatures reaching 97 degrees.
Brown has since been charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of child cruelty. Authorities say this is not her first offense. In August 2021, Brown allegedly used an identical social media scheme in Fairfield, Alabama, disappearing with a 4-day-old newborn. She posted bond in October 2021 and was not indicted until 2025 due to pandemic-related court backlogs. She later failed to appear for a court date.
Brown is currently held without bond at Fulton County Jail. Her next court date is September 10.