Two young children, aged 1 and 2, were reportedly taken by a trusted family friend from their home in Florida and left in a park in Wisconsin after the babysitter discovered that the police were searching for her. Adalyn Jean Burkett, 18, and Marquan Edwards, 22, were apprehended on Monday, following a report by the children’s mother that her kids were missing. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office in northwest Florida made the announcement.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a missing child alert for 2-year-old DeKarsen Middleton and 1-year-old Delyla Middleton. Arrest warrants were obtained, and information was shared through Milwaukee news outlets. Fortunately, the children were found unharmed at the park on Sunday and were taken care of by the Milwaukee police while the U.S. Marshals tracked down Burkett and Edwards. The following day, the young children were reunited with their family. Tina Leach, their grandmother, expressed her relief, stating that they had driven for 17 hours to reach the children and would have gone to any lengths to find them.
The children’s mother informed the Bay County Sheriff’s Office that Burkett, who was babysitting her kids on the night they went missing, was a trusted family friend. Leach, the grandmother, expressed her shock, saying, “We never thought she would have done something like that. We trusted her. It just shows you who you can’t trust.” Interestingly, Burkett had previously been reported as a missing runaway in Milwaukee when she was 15 years old in 2020, according to a missing person report by the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin. The report stated that Burkett had willingly left her home and was believed to be avoiding law enforcement officers. The latest information indicated that she was staying in the Rufus King neighborhood on the north side of Milwaukee.
Before this incident, Burkett had not been seen since November 2021 in Milwaukee, according to a media report published on March 11, 2022, which suggested that she might be in Florida. Milwaukee police have stated that they will be referring charges to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.