Five-year-old Lovell Barnett, who was reported missing on Aug. 2 by his grandmother, has been located and is safe, DeKalb County Police Department said. The child had been placed in the custody of the Georgia Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) after his mother was arrested.
The child’s mother told investigators that in mid-April of this year, she left her son in the care of an acquaintance near Candler Road and Rainbow Drive and shortly after, became incarcerated in a nearby jurisdiction. While incarcerated, the boy’s mother said her son remained in the care of the acquaintance who told her the boy was turned over to DCFS.
DCFS initially could not find a child matching the five-year-old’s description is in its care because he was in the system under a different name in a nearby county, DeKalb Police spokesperson Michaela N. Vincent said. False statement charges are pending against the mother, authorities said.
“We are thankful our detectives were able to put the pieces together and closure was brought to the boy’s grandmother,” said Vincent.