Two Young Missing Sisters Found Safe Near East Point In Sylvan Hills, Reunited with Family: Babysitter, Who Is Facing Allegations In A Similar Case In Alabama, Jailed On Kidnapping Charges

Two young sisters are reunited with their family, and a fugitive babysitter is behind bars today, following a frantic 48-hour multi-agency manhunt that culminated in a dramatic rescue in southwest Atlanta Monday afternoon.

Four-year-old Zola Cooper and 11-month-old Norah Cooper were recovered safe on Monday, August 17, 2026, after a statewide Amber Alert led police to a trailer in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood.

The children’s babysitter, Lakesha Brown, 42, was arrested at the scene. Authorities have since revealed that Brown was a fugitive out of Alabama, where she faced nearly identical child-abduction charges from a 2021 incident.

The Disappearance and Search

The ordeal began on Saturday evening, August 15, when the children’s mother entrusted her daughters to Brown. According to the Atlanta Police Department (APD), Brown failed to return the sisters at the agreed-upon time.

By Sunday morning, after Brown began giving conflicting stories about her whereabouts and abruptly cut off communication, the family contacted law enforcement.

Recognizing the imminent danger to the children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) issued a Levi’s Call—Georgia’s Amber Alert system—early Monday morning. A massive task force comprising the APD, the GBI, and the FBI was mobilized.

The Rescue at Sylvan Hills

The breakthrough came Monday afternoon. Investigators utilized mobile data to narrow the suspect’s location to the Gateway South Apartment Complex on Sylvan Road.

While searching the perimeter, officers approached a private trailer parked on the property.

“Officers heard a baby crying inside the structure,” an APD spokesperson stated during a press briefing. “They breached the door and located both children alive and unharmed.”

Paramedics evaluated Zola and Norah at the scene before transferring them to a local hospital for precautionary checkups. Both girls have since been returned to their mother.

A Prior History of Alleged Abduction

Details included in the investigation indicated that Brown was actively evading justice in Alabama.

In August 2021, Brown was arrested in Fairfield, Alabama, for allegedly kidnapping a four-day-old infant. In that case, prosecutors say she similarly embedded herself as a family friend, waited for the mother to fall asleep, and fled with the newborn. She later posted photos of the infant on social media, claiming the child was hers.

An Alabama grand jury indicted Brown in 2025. After being released on a $100,000 bond, she skipped multiple court dates, prompting a judge to issue a bench warrant for her arrest.

Brown is currently held without bond at the Fulton County Jail on kidnapping charges.

Fulton County prosecutors are coordinating with Alabama authorities, who have already filed motions to formally revoke Brown’s previous bond. Arraignment dates in Atlanta have not yet been announced.