JALEEL XAMIR HOWARD - 4 Months - Monroe (SE of Charlotte) NC /SC alerted

Monroe NC ---- An Amber Alert has been issued for a North Carolina baby who was abducted by a 41-year-old male.
According to the Amber Alert website, Lonnie Cecil Buchanon, Jr. abducted 4-month-old Jaleel Xamir Howard.



Buchanan and the female suspect was seen traveling east on East Franklin Street in Monroe and were driving a silver 2010 Toyota Camry.
The Amber Alert website says the vehicle has been found in Pageland, S.C. and Buchanan then fled on foot into the woods. There is no additional information about Jaleel at this time.
The missing baby, Jaleel Xamir Howard, is described as a black male with black hair and brown eyes, weighing 15 pounds. Howard was last seen wearing a diaper.
Buchanan is a black male with long black dreds and has brown eyes.
He is 5'8" and weighs 200 pounds. Buchanan was last seen wearing blue
jeans with no shirt.
If you have any information, please contact Monroe Police Department at 704-282-4700 or call 911.

The Monroe Police Department, the FBI
and several other state law enforcement agencies are investigating after
a baby was abducted from his mother at a doctor's office in Union County Tuesday morning.

The Monroe Police Department say 4-month-old
Jaleel Xamir Howard was taken by 41-year-old Lonnie Cecil Buchanan, Junior, police say.

According to police, baby Jaleel was taken
by Buchanan when the child was with his mother at a doctor's office
parking lot at 1303 Franklin Street in Monroe.

Officers say an unidentified woman, who was
with Buchanan, walked over to the baby's mother, purposely distracting
her, while she was taking the baby out of the car. That's when police
say Buchanan snatched the baby from the car.

Witnesses describing the incident say that the whole thing took less than a minute.

"It was quick. She bit the girl, they were
fighting. She ripped the shirt off the guy, but he reached in and
snatched the baby out of the seat," one witness stated. "The seat was still fastened."

Another witness told us she chased after Buchanan.

"I was like, I want to get that baby," said
the witness. "Cause he had it by the bottom and the back half was reared
back and his head was just bobbing back. As soon as I got down to the
bushes, he jumped into the car. The car was already running."

Police issued an AMBER Alert Tuesday
afternoon. They say Buchanan is not the baby's father but then John
Snyder, the Union County District Attorney told the media that he is.
There are also reports that the mother may have a restraining order against Buchanan.

Investigators think the two were in a dark blue 1997 Honda Civic
with license plate of YNW-8418. They were last seen traveling south on Highway 601
towards Chesterfield County, South Carolina.

Officers with the Monroe Police Department
searched several locations in which Buchanan was known to reside. They
have also obtained second-degree kidnapping warrants for his arrest.

Investigators are working with police across state lines to find the baby as fast as they can.

Buchanan is a black male with black hair and
brown eyes, is 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. Buchanan was
wearing blue jeans or khaki pants, and no shirt.

Buchanan rented a 2011 gray or silver Toyota
Camry on July 26 with license plate ZTD-1237. That vehicle has not yet been returned.

The baby is approximately 2 feet tall, weighs
15 pounds. The child has with curly black hair and brown eyes. Baby
Jaleel was last seen only wearing a diaper.

Monroe Police, Union County Sheriff‘s Office,
SBI and FBI are involved in the search for the child as well as in the
apprehension of Buchanan.

One of the vehicles the suspect may have been using has been located near Pageland SC and a
person was seen running from that vehicle. The location of the suspect or the baby is still unknown.

Anyone with information about the child or Buchanan, should call the Monroe Police Department
or Detective Shannon Huntley at 704-282-4700.

A 4-month-old baby allegedly snatched from his mother's car
Tuesday morning in Monroe was found safe early Wednesday in South
Carolina, authorities say.
The man accused of taking the young boy is in custody, officials add.
Police in Monroe and in South Carolina confirm that 4-month-old
Jaleel Xavier Howard and Lonnie Buchanan Jr. of Monroe were found
overnight in Chesterfield County, S.C. The baby was found shortly after
midnight, several hours after the Toyota Camry being driven by Buchanan
was found in Chesterfield County.
The baby is reported to be in good condition at Carolinas Medical Center-Union in Monroe.
Monroe police say additional details will be released later this morning.
Police say Jaleel Howard was taken about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday from
his mother's vehicle in the parking lot of Monroe Children's Clinic.
Witnesses told police the man who took the baby pushed the baby's
mother, Tanara Howard, and then grabbed the infant from his car seat.
Police said Tanara Howard and Buchanan knew each other but that Buchanan was not the baby's father.

A 41-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were jailed Wednesday
morning and charged in connection with Tuesday's kidnapping of a
four-month-old boy in a Monroe doctor's office parking lot.
The baby, Jalleel Xamir Howard, was found about 25 miles from where the kidnapping took place and is in good health, police say.


Monroe police said Lonnie Buchanan Jr., of Monroe, was charged
with second-degree kidnapping and is jailed in Union County under
$250,000 bond. Beulah Marie Steen, also of Monroe, was charged with
second-degree kidnapping and assault and is being held under $50,000
bond. Police said Steen is alleged to have struck the baby's mother
during the kidnapping.
Buchanan surrendered to police near Pageland, S.C., in
Chesterfield County, about 1 a.m. Authorities in that county say
Buchanan has relatives who live there.
Police did not say where the infant was found, but they said he
was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-Union and released around 4 a.m.,
two hours after he was admitted. Authorities said the boy was in good
health.
The motive for the kidnapping remained murky. There were
conflicting reports as to whether Buchanan was the infant's father, but
Monroe police said the birth certificate indicated another man was the
father.
Monroe police outlined a series of events that indicated the kidnapping was well-planned.
Investigators say they believe Steen and Buchanan were waiting in
the parking lot of the Monroe Children's Clinic when Tanara Howard, 21,
pulled in about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday with her son Jalleel in a child
safety seat. Police allege Steen assaulted Howard when she got out of
the car, distracting her while Buchanan ran to the vehicle and snatched
the baby.
"The way he yanked that baby out of the car was unreal," a witness, Lisa Barringer, reported.
Another witness, Carmen Fowler, said, "She kept saying, 'That's my kid. You're not taking my kid.' But he did anyway."
Witnesses told police the man and woman fled with the infant in a 2011 Toyota Camry.
Monroe police issued an Amber Alert early Tuesday afternoon, sparking a multi-state search for the suspects and the infant.
Chesterfield County sheriff's deputies found the Toyota Camry
late Tuesday night in a wooded area off S.C. 207, not far from Pageland.
A few hours later, police say, Buchanan surrendered. It was not clear
when Steen was taken into custody.
"The child was innocent," Monroe police Capt. Bryan Gilliard
said. "It's hard to fathom how someone could snatch a child like that."
Monroe police Chief Debra Duncan said Monroe police got
assistance from the FBI, SBI, Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office,
Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, Union County Sheriff's Office and
other agencies in the search.

Thank God another baby was found, safe and sound.