Widespread search for woman accused of stealing car with infant twins inside in Ohio

A widespread search is underway for a woman charged with kidnapping after she was accused of stealing a vehicle with twin infants inside in Ohio, one of whom has been found, police said.

The suspect, Nalah Jackson, 24, is alleged to have stolen the vehicle, a 2010 Honda Accord, around 9:45 p.m. Monday from outside a Donatos Pizza restaurant in the Short North Arts District neighborhood of Columbus, police said.

The mother of the 5-month-old boys, Kason and Kyair Thomass, had left her car running with the babies inside as she went into the pizza shop to pick up a DoorDash order. When she returned, she found her vehicle was gone, Columbus police said.

Jackson, described as homeless and from Columbus, was in the pizza shop and left when the woman entered, Police Chief Elaine Bryant said.

After an Amber Alert was issued early Tuesday, police got a call about a child abandoned near Dayton International Airport, who was identified as Kyair. The airport is about 70 miles, or an hour's drive, from Donatos Pizza.

The search for Jackson and baby Kason has only intensified, with the FBI and the Ohio State Highway Patrol having joined the investigation.

Deputy Police Chief Smith Weir said at a news conference Wednesday that Jackson has been charged with two counts of kidnapping with “a nationwide pickup radius.”

He said be-on-the-lookout alerts have also been issued in the five states surrounding Ohio, while the in-state Amber Alert for Kason remains.

Police shared photos of the stolen vehicle Wednesday. The Honda Accord is described as missing its front bumper and as having a torn temporary Ohio registration tag on the rear bumper and a white bumper sticker on the rear that says “Westside City Toys.”

Police have also released security photos of Jackson taken from a gas station in Huber Heights after the vehicle was stolen. She is alleged to have an employee for money there.

“We’ve been working this case nonstop from the very beginning," Bryant said at a news conference Wednesday. “We want to focus on bringing Kason home. We want to focus on finding Nalah Jackson.”

Weir said there is no indication Jackson knew the woman or the boys.

Police said Jackson has a criminal history and had several arrests with Columbus police.

Weir said that detectives have interviewed a former boyfriend of Jackson’s, checked hotels and apartment complexes in various areas and searched the area surrounding the airport where Kyair was found and that they are trying to contact Jackson’s family.

He said they have had made “initial efforts" in contacting her family, noting, "We're still hoping to get in contact with them.”

“We consider this child in danger,” Weir said Tuesday. “This is a cry for help. We are asking for the community to come forward and help us locate this child.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jackson, the vehicle or baby Kason is asked to call 911 or the Columbus Division of Police Special Victims Bureau at (614) 645-4701.