LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – The father who took his 2-year-old daughter prompting an AMBER Alert is in police custody. Jaylynn Maxey was found safe and unharmed, according to LMPD.
According to Kentucky State Police, around 11:40 p.m. Joshua Yeager, 24, had his daughter Jaylynn Maxey in the vehicle with him as he led police on a pursuit southbound on Interstate 65 toward Hart County. Around 12:02 Yeager exited I-65 at mile marker 71 and began heading north on U.S. 31. At 12:09 Yeager was on U.S. 31 W at State Road 224 where he was taken into custody.
The AMBER Alert was issued just after 7 p.m. Tuesday for Jaylynn Maxey, 2, who had last been seen with Yeager at 183 Adams Shepherds Parkway in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.
Around 9:20 p.m. Louisville Metro police recovered the 2000 maroon Ford Taurus Yeager was originally believed to have been in at Arthur and Lee Streets, near a Circle K gas station and Days Inn. Police said the car was stolen and had the New Jersey license plate VHM20Z.
Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson Alicia Smiley said LMPD asked Kentucky State Police to issue the Amber Alert after Jaylynn was reported missing by her mother on October 5 near the area of Bardstown Road and Interstate 265.
The family made a poster they gave to police and on it they stated that Yeager abducted Jaylynn, her mother and Jaylynn's baby brother, but the mother and little boy were able to get away. The poster also states that Yeager robbed a bank in Shepherdsville.
Shepherdsville police released surveillance photos on Monday after a bank robbery. They describe the robber as a white man wearing plaid shorts and a green shirt with a logo.
In the AMBER Alert, Kentucky State Police describe Yeager wearing the same thing. Despite the similarities, LMPD has not confirmed if the robbery suspect and AMBER Alert suspect are the same.
Yeager was taken into custody by Kentucky State Police. Police said Jaylynn is safe and is being taken to Hardin Memorial Hospital to be checked out.
LMPD plans to release more information at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
