LAFAYETTE JACKSON - 10 yo - Champaign IL

Champaign police believe a 10-year-old boy who didn’t come home from school Tuesday is with his mother.
Lafayette Travis Jackson IV is described as a black male, 4 feet
tall, 98 pounds, with a skinny build, last seen wearing a black shirt,
blue jeans and a light blue and gray backpack.Lafayette, a student at Carrie Busey School, 1605 W. Kirby Ave., was expected to arrive home from school at 3:30 p.m.
"We're treating this as a parental abduction," said Champaign police Lt. Joe Gallo.
Lafayette's mother, Natasha Gonzales, may be driving a white, Chevy
sedan with New Mexico plates, Gallo said. She left a voicemail message
with Lafayette's father, also named Lafayette Jackson, on Tuesday,
saying she had their son.
Gallo said the elder Jackson has been the boy's sole provider for
several years. He said police have no reason to believe that Gonzales
would harm the boy, so have not issued an Amber Alert. However, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation is helping Champaign police.




Natasha Gonzalez and Lafayette Jackson





"This is a high priority case until we know this kid is safely home with his father," Gallo said.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Lafayette or Natasha
is urged to call the Champaign Police Department at (217) 351-4545 or
Crime Stoppers at 373-TIPS.

A 10-year-old Champaign boy picked up from school in Champaign after
school Tuesday by his mother has been found safe in New Mexico.
Champaign police Lt. Joe Gallo said Lafayette Travis Jackson was
found about 3 p.m. Central time, unharmed, at a relative's home in
Alamogordo, N.M.A warrant was issued Wednesday for Natasha Gonzalez-Swain, 29, charging her with child abduction.
"We believe she drove him straight back," Gallo said, adding he was
waiting to hear if Alamogordo police had arrested her on the warrant
issued by Judge Tom Difanis.
The Champaign school district issued a press release Wednesday
afternoon saying the district "had no documentation that would prohibit
the mother's access to the child" and that they gave that information
to police. He is a student at Carrie Busey school in Champaign.
Gallo said the boy's father, Lafayette Jackson, reported his son
missing Tuesday when he didn't arrive home about 3:30 p.m. as expected.State's Attorney Julia Rietz said she was told the boy had been in the sole custody of his father for several years.
"They were never married. Generally, when there isn't a marriage,
the mother is the presumptive legal custodian. However, under the child
abduction statute, if the mother has abandoned or relinquished custody
of the child to the father and the father has provided sole care of the
child for a significant period of time, then the mother can be charged
with child abduction if she removes the child from the father without
his consent," Rietz said.
Gallo said the boy and his mother have had "limited contact over the
phone over the last several months." What motivated Gonzalez-Swain to
come get her son Tuesday remains the subject of their investigation, he
said.
"When the child gets back here, we'll review the case to determine
how we'll proceed," said Rietz in answer to the question of whether she
was going to extradite Gonzalez-Swain.
Gallo said the elder Jackson was making arrangements to go to New Mexico to get his son.
Child abduction is a Class 4 felony, carrying potential penalties ranging from probation to one to three years in prison.