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Fairfax boy back home after alleged kidnapping
A Falls Church woman charged with kidnapping a child and bringing him to Washington, D.C., has been extradited to Virginia to stand trial.Suspect Falah Joe is accused of kidnapping 5-year-old Kameron Wells on Sunday, Oct. 19. Wells was discovered in Washington at about 1:30 a.m. Monday after an Amber Alert caught the attention of a D.C. resident who flagged down a policeman after seeing the boy in a residence. Wells was returned to his family unharmed.
Fairfax County Police public information officer Eddy Azcarate said an Amber Alert was issued Sunday evening after Wells went missing while shopping Sunday morning with his grandfather at a Shopper's Warehouse in the 6200 block of Little River Turnpike in the Bailey's Crossroads area. "Apparently grandpa walked down one aisle and turned around and the boy had wandered off," said Azcarate. "The call came in at 11:48 a.m. after the grandfather and store employees searched for 40 minutes."
Azcarate said that more than 30 officers from various jurisdictions aided in the search. "We got everyone involved," he said.
According to a timeline released by law enforcement officials, Wells went missing at about 11 a.m. Sunday. Twenty minutes later, surveillance video from local merchants in the Plaza at Landmark shopping center showed Wells walking with a woman. At 11:45 a.m., Wells and the woman boarded the 7A Metrobus, and were dropped off at Seminary Road.
After an Amber alert was issued at 9:18 p.m., the driver of the bus, Jennifer Edwards, contacted police and told them where Wells and the woman had been dropped off . At 12:30 Monday morning, D.C. Police Lt. James Cullen is contacted by D.C. resident Milton Mooya who tells him that Wells in his house in the 5100 block of 9th Street, Northwest. Cullen called for backup and entered the house, securing Wells and arresting Joe.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) took the lead on the case after it was discovered that Wells was brought across state lines, making the kidnapping a federal offense.
Joe made an initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Monday afternoon, and could face a 20-year prison sentence if convicted.
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