ATLANTA — Editor's note: The video above is from a previous story.
A teen is now charged in connection to the case where a 1-year-old Clarkson boy was reported missing last November. Baby Blaise Barnett was at the center of an Amber Alert and was later found safely.
Friday morning, Clarkston Police told 11Alive authorities made an arrest in the case on Thursday. Police said the 17-year-old was arrested by DeKalb County Schools in an unrelated incident. Right now, the teen is being questioned at the DeKalb County Jail. According to police, investigators were able to make the arrest by linking evidence found in the van to the suspect. They said he's being charged with theft and abduction.
Metro Atlanta residents woke up to the sound of their phone buzzing around 5 a.m. on Nov. 10.from an Amber Alert. At the time, Clarkston Police said Blaise Barnett was inside a 2002 Ford Explorer when it was stolen from an complex off Montreal Road in Clarkston. Family members said they were returning home when Barnett's dad brought some bags inside the apartment. He left the car keys inside the cupholder of the van when he walked inside. When he came back out "30 seconds later" the car was gone and baby Blaise was inside.
"If he's cold, just keep him warm. I know he's crying right now. Don't get upset at the crying. He's just a baby. He doesn't know what's going on. He doesn't know who you are. Don't get irritated. I beg you," the child's mother, Deonna Bray said that morning.
Just hours later, authorities found the family's Ford Explorer in an abandoned lot behind the Brannon Hill Apartments with no car seat or boy inside. However, police said the suspect left behind some belongings. Photos showed a pair of denim shorts, a black plastic grocery bag, and a black-and-blue Altec Lansing Bluetooth speaker.
After 36 hours of search efforts from multiple agencies including Clarkston Police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the quest to find Blaise finally ended.
Authorities revealed a resident in Clarkston opened her car door in her driveway, stunned to find the boy at the center of the Amber Alert crawling around inside the floor of the vehicle. For months, no charges had been filed.
Now, police said they have made an arrest in the incident. They have yet to release more details on what led up to the new discovery.
11Alive will continue to update this story as more details become available.