Following Amber Alert guidelines, authorities issued an immediate alert for Emma Kennedy on Monday night cautioning that the baby was in “extreme danger.”
Earlier this month, in a gut-wrenching ordeal, baby Emma Grace Kennedy was safely returned to her mother after being abducted by her sex offender father Sunday night at a gas station in Danville, Virginia.
State police in Danville claim that Carl Ray Kennedy, 51, “assaulted the girl’s mother while armed with a knife at a Kwik Stop in Danville and took the girl.”
Following Amber Alert guidelines, authorities issued an immediate alert for Emma Kennedy on Monday night cautioning that the baby was in “extreme danger.” They listed Emma Grace as a “white female, 2 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 18 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a light-blue onesie.”
Before the kidnapping, Carl Ray Kennedy had been threatening the baby’s mother, Kristen Murphy, with statements like “I’m going to blow up your family’s house. If I can’t be with the baby, you can’t either.”
Amy Metzger, sister of Kristen Murphy, said after losing custody a few months ago, Kennedy had been harassing the whole family on social media, by phone, and in person. She believed that Kennedy was indeed capable of hurting his own daughter Emma.
Who is Carl Ray Kennedy?
According to police, Carl Ray Kennedy is a registered sex offender with a lengthy criminal history. He was recently released from prison on a $250,000 bond for a drugs and distribution charge from March.
Back in 2014, Kennedy was convicted of a felony charge of strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery and was incarcerated. There is an active warrant out for Kennedy for failure to register as a sex offender.
In the Amber alert, authorities described Carl Ray Kennedy as “5-foot-8 and 170 pounds with short gray hair and green eyes. Kennedy was last seen wearing a brown T-shirt, gray shorts and black and white Sketchers shoes. He has a pierced left ear and tattoos on both arms. He has a tattoo of an eye on the back of his right hand. On his left arm, he has a skull tattoo and a wizard tattoo. On his right arm, he has a tattoo of a skull with a bandanna over its mouth along with a pit bull tattoo with ‘American bulldog’ written underneath.”
Metzger theorizes that Kennedy does not have anywhere to live and has been bouncing around friends’ houses and sleeping on couches.
Amber Alerts Work and Another
Proving once again that the Amber alert system works, police rescued baby Emma after an anonymous tip from a stranger. She was found with her father, Carl Ray Kennedy, in a mobile home in North Carolina. Police say Kennedy had “painted his gold Suzuki black to try to evade capture.”
Kennedy was found in Randleman, North Carolina, which is about sixty-five miles south of where he abducted his daughter in Virginia. A woman who called 911 four times in ten minutes, claimed Kennedy was pressuring her to go out and purchase diapers and formula for him. Panicked, the woman called 911 for help.
Upon entering the home, a sheriff’s deputy grabbed the baby and shielded her while other officers apprehended Carl Ray Kennedy and put him in custody.
Emma Grace appeared to be in good health and was smiling when police arrived. Kennedy had no comments for police or the media.
Emma was returned to her mother, Kristen Murphy, in the hospital after evaluation. Everything checked out fine, and the baby is in perfect shape.
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