TE'AMANI LeSHA GERALD - 5 yo - Fort Bragg NC/Charleston SC Alerted

Fort Bragg, NC--- — Fort Bragg authorities issued an Amber Alert Thursday morning for a missing 5-year-old girl.

Te'amani LeSha Gerald was taken from the front yard of her residence on Lapoterie Street in the Hammond Hills Housing Area on post at about 8:15 a.m., said Tom McCollum, a spokesman for Fort Bragg. She was getting ready to walk to Butner Elementary School on post at the time of the abduction, he said.



Te'amani is black, about 3 feet tall and 50 pounds. She was wearing a pink "Dora the Explorer" coat, blue jeans and a black shirt. She has two braids in her hair.

The state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety said Te'amani was taken by two women, Alexis D. Gerald and Phyllis Gerald.

Alexis Gerald was described as black woman, 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. There was no description of Phyllis Gerald.

The relationship between the women and Te'amani wasn't immediately known, but military officials said they were investigating the incident and a custody issue. Authorities said they don't believe the girl is in immediate danger.

Te'amani lives with her father, who is in the Army, but he wasn't home at the time she was abducted, McCollum said.

Witnesses said the women and Te'amani were in a 1999 black Chevrolet Suburban, with South Carolina license FVC-504, and authorities said they were
believed to be heading toward Charleston, S.C.

Fort Bragg couldn't lock its gates in time to prevent the vehicle from leaving post, McCollum said.

Anyone who has seen Te'amani or the Suburban is asked to call the Fort Bragg Police Department at 910-396-6608, or call 911 or *HP.

- A North Carolina Amber Alert is over after police found the missing 5-year-old during a traffic stop in North Charleston.
Police say Te'Amani Leshay Gerald was abducted around 8:15 a.m. at
22 Lapoterie St. in Fort Bragg by her non-custodial mother, Alexis
Gerald. She was found safe Thursday afternoon.
No other details are available at this time.