JADA MILEE PETERSON - 10 yo - Cullman/Blountsville AL

Cullman AL ---- The Alabama Department of Public Safety has issued a
missing child media alert.

Authorities say 10-year-old Jada Milee Peterson was taken from Cold
Spring School in Cullman on Friday. You can see the attached photo of
Jada Milee Peterson. She has brown hair and blue eyes. She is also
described as about 4'8", weighing about 110 pounds.



Investigators say Peterson was taken by her non-custodial father, George
Wayne Peterson. They say he has known violent tendencies.

They say he is likely to be driving a vehicle matching the following
description:

1981 Beige Toyota pickup truck -- Alabama license plate # 25C34S7

They say he may have taken the child to the Blountsville, Alabama, area.

If you think you have seen Jada Milee Peterson, contact the Alabama
Bureau of Investigation Center for Missing and Exploited Children by
calling (800) 228-7688.

Authorities have found a 10-year-old girl who was taken from Cold
Springs Elementary School Friday morning.

The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office has reported Jada Milee Peterson
was found at approximately 3:30 p.m. Friday at a residence on Highway 91
in the Hanceville community. She was with her non-custodial father and
is safe.

“Everything is okay and the man is in custody at the Cullman County
Detention Center,” Cullman County Sheriff’s investigator Lt. Scott Clay
said. “The residence where she was found would be considered her
father’s residence.”

Her father, George Wayne Peterson, has been charged with felony
interference of custody.

Reports indicate the girl was taken from school early Friday morning at
approximately 7:50 a.m., just before classes were set to start.

Cullman County Schools Superintendent Hank Allen said the abduction was
an unauthorized check-out.

“[Friday] morning, while school was coming into session, there was a
lot of activity and parents in the hall,” he said. “This person made his
way to the classroom and there happened to be a substitute teacher. He
asked if he could check out his daughter, but he doesn’t have custody
rights.”

By the time school officials realized what had happened, Allen said the
man had already made his way out of the school.

“[Principal] Phillip Gay yelled at the man to stop and requested he
return to the building, but the man got in his truck and left,” Allen
said.

Principal Phillip Gay said numerous parents were at the school Friday
for an Easter egg hunt and other events — which allowed the girl’s
father to slip in more easily.

“He did not sign his daughter out and he did not go through the
office,” Gay said. “We had a lot of parental involvement today and a lot
of parents on campus. We’re just glad to have Jada back with her mom.”

The school normally has a resource officer on campus for security,
though Allen said the officer was off duty when the abduction occurred.