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The mother of a 20-month-old boy who was said to have vanished from his family’s Georgia home nearly a week ago told police she woke up to find the child gone – and thought someone might have taken him, according to a local report.
Quinton Simon has been missing since Wednesday, when his mother called police around 9:40 a.m. and said her son was not inside their Buckhalter Road home in Savannah, police officials have said.
Details of a dispatch call obtained by local news station WJCL shed light on the moments the mother reported her son missing.
"Complainant advised her 1-year-old son is missing," the dispatcher could be heard saying, according to the report. "She woke up, her door was open. Advised he's unable to open a door. Thinks someone came in and took him."
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Quinton reportedly lived at the home with his brother, his maternal grandparents, his mother and her boyfriend. His grandparents, Thomas and Billie Jo Howell, told the news station they are Quinton’s and his 3-year-old brother’s legal guardians.
Just Tuesday, the Chatham County Police Department announced investigators had "seized evidence" that they believed would help to "move this case forward."
The toddler was allegedly last seen around 6 a.m. Wednesday, when he was wearing a Sesame Street shirt and black bottoms. He was reported missing 3 hours and 40 minutes later, police have said. The FBI has since joined the case to work alongside police personnel in their urgent search.
On Monday, Chief Jeffrey M. Hadley said more than 40 FBI agents were assisting police department with the case, which has consisted of several interviews, searches and canvasses of a number of geographical areas.
Hadley added that police were investigating whether there was any criminality related to the toddler’s disappearance.
"We’re looking at it from multiple fronts, one of it being a criminal investigation, as well as a missing child at this point," he told reporters. "We don’t have anything confirmed, so we can’t say anything absolutely. But it is fair to say … that we are looking at the criminal investigation aspect of this."
A spokesperson for the police department would not say whether police had recovered any evidence of Quinton's belongings during their search. Police reportedly pumped the swimming pool behind Quinton’s home on Monday, when they conducted a second search of the home.
Photos provided by Chatham County Police Department show missing toddler Quinton Simon (Chatham County Police Department)
Hadley would not comment whether Quinton’s parents were cooperating with police or if they have retained an attorney. Quinton’s mother has not responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Tuesday morning.
Ted Williams, a longtime homicide detective-turned-renowned attorney, said detectives are likely working on piecing together "what happened between 6 a.m. that morning" and when the child’s mother reported him missing.
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"And what led her at 9:40, other than the fact that her door was open, to believe that someone had taken Quinton?" he went on. "The authorities are backtracking. They’re trying to get as much information."
He added: "I can tell you it’s highly unusual, but it does happen, where a child is sleeping in a home and all of the sudden the door is open and a 20-month-old child is no longer there … It happens, but this is rare."
WJCL obtained court documents that show a tense relationship between Quinton’s mother, the mother’s boyfriend and Quinton’s grandparents prior to his disappearance.
A woman who said she babysat Quinton and his brother told WSAV-TV she had seen the boys as recently as the day before Quinton disappeared. She was supposed to watch them that Wednesday morning, but instead received an unusual text message, according to the report.
Quinton Simon was last seen on Oct. 5, 2022. (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
"I got a text this morning saying they would not be here, would not be babysitting them at 5:29 [a.m.]," McCarta told WSAV-TV. "Which was kind of odd because I have them even when she doesn’t work," the woman, Diana McCarta said, reportedly referring to the children’s mother.
McCarta then received a text message from Quinton’s other relatives around 9 a.m., asking if she had seen Quinton, according to the report.
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"I immediately go to their house. I try to help them look, they didn’t want that. So, I’ve been just waiting around like everyone else," she went on. "My heart is broken. I’m not his mother. I’m not his family. But I love him very much And I just don’t know what could happen."
Police are asking anyone with information regarding Quinton Simon's whereabouts to call 912-667-3134.
