DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The search for 1-year-old Blaise Barnett has ended with the child found safe Thursday afternoon after being missing for nearly 39 hours.
However, his disappearance puts a fresh spotlight on a troubled community in Clarkston. Brannon Hill is complex sometimes described as the "worst community in America."
11Alive first visited Brannon Hill about 10 years ago, when it was a squalid, burned out property that seemed borderline uninhabitable. Now, a lot has changed.
"I don’t like to live like this. I have to move out from here," said Johannes Abebe, who moved into the complex a decade ago – shortly after he immigrated from Ethiopia.
Brannon Hill is a sprawling complex with dilapidated structures that conceal spaces that many would consider to be barely livable.
Most recently, it was the spot where authorities found the car overnight linked to a missing child case. Earlier this week, police worked a fatal shooting on the same property.
"I have to move out from this area because there’s no safety. Sometimes they burn the houses. You see so many things. I have to leave," Abebe added.
Years ago, DeKalb County arranged to bulldoze portions of the property, hoping to close the book on a place that has been crime ridden for years. Yet Brannon Hill persists. Abebe said he stays there because it only costs $500 a month but he said even the cheap rent is losing its appeal.
"If I can afford another place, I have to move out from here. That’s my plan," he explained.
Brannon Hill persists in part because it is a condominium complex with multiple owners, giving authorities multiple parties to deal with for code enforcement and other issues.