Amber alert issued for missing Savannah toddler believed to be in extreme danger
The Brief
Levi's Call issued for missing 3-year-old Leilani Elliott, believed to be in extreme danger after unauthorized removal during supervised visit in Savannah.
Leilani last seen with Jessy Elliott near Wheaton Street; possibly traveling in a white Nissan Altima, model year 2020-2022.
Authorities urge immediate contact with 911 or Savannah Police Department if seen; Leilani described with black braided hair, yellow hoodie, dark leggings, and white shoes.
SAVANNAH, Ga. - Authorities are searching for a missing 3-year-old girl believed to be in extreme danger after being taken without permission during a supervised visit in Savannah.
A statewide Levi's Call, Georgia's Amber Alert System for missing and abducted children, has since been issued.
What we know
According to the Savannah Police Department, Leilani Elliott was last seen around 10:20 a.m. Thursday near 825 Wheaton Street and was believed to be with Jessy Elliott. Investigators say the child was taken from the 900 block of Wheaton Street without authorization during a supervised visit.
Jessy Elliott was last spotted around 10:45 a.m. walking east on Wheaton Street toward East Broad Street.
Dig deeper
Leilani, 3, has black hair styled in braids with beads and was wearing a yellow hoodie, dark leggings, and white shoes.
Jessy Elliott, 32, has brown hair with blond ends and was last seen in a blue or teal tank top, blue jeans, and leggings. Her hair has brown roots with blonde ends and her hairstyle is a ponytail.
Authorities initially reported the pair may be traveling in a white Nissan Altima, model year 2020 to 2022, headed eastbound on Wheaton Street.
What we don't know
The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain under investigation.
What you can do
Police believe Leilani is in extreme danger and are urging anyone who sees either of them to call 911 immediately or contact the Savannah Police Department at 912-658-0990.
The Source
The details in this article were provided by the Savannah Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Family of twins found dead on Bell Mountain dispute findings, says they were killed
The family of twins Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis are holding a news conference Friday morning laying out what they say are facts of the twins' disappearance and deaths. The bodies of the Lewis twins were found in Towns County on Bell Mountain in early March. While the deaths were eventually ruled a double-suicide by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Lewis family is calling it a 'lynching.' [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Friday, the family and their legal representatives are demanding justice for the two 19-year-olds. According to the announcement sent by attorneys for the Lewis Family, they want to 'dispel information and present the facts,' while calling for a new, 'thorough, transparent investigation' and calling for accountability for those responsible. The family is joined at the briefing in Lawrenceville by members of the NAACP Georgia State Conference an the NAACP Gwinnett County Branch, as well as community advocates and supporters. The GBI said they determined the method of the deaths based on the medical examiner's autopsy of the twins and other investigative findings, which agents shared with the Lewis family in May. In part, the GBI said cellular location data helped establish a timeline of when the Lewis twins left their home in Gwinnett County to go to Bell Mountain, and that while Naazir Lewis went to the airport on March 7, and had a ticket, 'he never caught the flight and returned home.' Additionally, the GBI said records show that Naazir Lewis bought ammunition for the gun used, which was delivered to their home in Gwinnett County on March 5. The GBI said internet search history from both of the twins' phones showed searches for how to load a gun, suicide rates in 2024 and related searches. Forensic evidence showed both twins fired a gun, according to the GBI, and a comprehensive investigation indicated the injures were self-inflicted. RELATED STORIES: GBI says teen brothers died of self-inflicted injuries on north GA mountain Autopsy results for twins found dead at top of GA mountain pending for more tests North GA volunteer firefighter arrested for sharing photos of twins' death scene on social media Twin brothers shot, killed in murder-suicide at top of mountain, GBI officials say If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. Call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Georgia man sentenced to 15 years for meth trafficking linked to Mexican cartel
The Brief Justin Harris Vinson was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine on behalf of a Mexican drug cartel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigation involved undercover operations and surveillance by multiple agencies, leading to the arrest of Vinson and his co-defendant, Shana Rae Black, who was also sentenced for meth distribution. Both Vinson and Black have prior felony drug convictions, and their arrests are part of efforts to stop the flow of dangerous drugs into Southwest Georgia. ALBANY, Ga. - A Warwick man who admitted to dealing large quantities of methamphetamine on behalf of a Mexican drug cartel during the COVID-19 pandemic has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Justin Harris Vinson, 42, was sentenced Tuesday to 180 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia. Vinson pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, 2024, to one count of methamphetamine distribution. There is no parole in the federal system. Prosecutors said Vinson told investigators he had been selling meth "his entire life," and at the height of the pandemic in 2020, he distributed up to three kilograms per week across South Georgia and North Florida on behalf of the cartel. His co-defendant, Shana Rae Black, 34, of Cordele, was sentenced on Feb. 28 to 168 months in prison after pleading guilty to the same charge. The backstory The investigation involved multiple undercover drug buys and surveillance operations carried out by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI, with support from local law enforcement. On Oct. 27, 2022, a confidential informant working with the Crisp County Sheriff's Office purchased methamphetamine from Black at a Perry motel, where a pistol was reportedly seen on a nightstand next to drugs. Four days later, a GBI agent posing as a buyer met Black at a Walmart in Cordele and purchased meth under audio and video surveillance. Agents later observed Vinson act as a broker during a Nov. 2 drug deal, where Black delivered 284.4 grams of meth at a Cordele motel. Vinson kept $300 from the transaction and was seen with a firearm. Black was arrested on Nov. 7 while returning from McDonough, Georgia. Investigators found nearly a kilogram of 97% pure methamphetamine, a smaller amount of 91% pure meth, a digital scale, and multiple phones in her vehicle. A subsequent search of her motel room revealed another firearm, suspected meth, scales, and packaging materials. In January 2023, Vinson sold 277 grams of meth to a confidential informant and was again seen with a firearm. A search of his Warwick home days later uncovered six firearms, including one in an open bedroom safe. Vinson and Black both have prior felony drug convictions in Georgia. What they're saying "Repeat convicted felons who weaponize themselves and distribute hazardous, illegal drugs in our communities will be brought to justice," said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. "Alongside our law enforcement partners, our office is working nonstop to identify those offenders causing the most harm." "This prosecution closes a pipeline for dangerous drugs flowing into the streets of Southwest Georgia," said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta office. The Source The United States Attorney's Office, Middle District of Georgia provided the details for this article.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
Man lost 2 decades of life in prison due to GA cops faking evidence, suit says
Joseph 'Joey' Watkins lost two decades of his life in the Georgia prison system because police faked evidence against him and teamed up with two Georgia Bureau of Investigation employees to convince jurors he was guilty of murder, according to a federal lawsuit he filed. When Watkins' murder conviction was thrown out by a September 2023 court order that affirmed his innocence, he 'had lived more than half his life in prison for a crime he did not commit,' his lawsuit filed May 30 says. His exoneration was secured after Watkins, his parents and the Georgia Innocence Project fought to overturn his conviction for years. Though Watkins had first been ruled out as a suspect in the killing of 20-year-old Isaac Dawkins, who was shot in the head while driving on a highway in Rome in 2000, he was pursued by Floyd County police and investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, according to his complaint. Rome is about a 70-mile drive northwest from Atlanta. Officers from both agencies collaborated to hide evidence that would've shown Watkins was innocent and gave false testimonies at trial, the filing says. The complaint includes Watkins' post-conviction statement to the court on July 1, 2001, when he declared: 'I am not a murderer. … I will be back in court because I am not guilty of this.' 'They can send me to prison, but I just want the family to know that justice has not been done,' Watkins said. 'I had nothing to do with this, and I will say it till the day I die.' Now living freely in Floyd County, Watkins is suing over his wrongful imprisonment on five federal causes of action, including 14th Amendment violations. His lawsuit names Floyd County, three county police officers, the estate of a fourth officer who died in 2023, and two GBI employees, a special agent and a forensic analyst. The county and its police chief, Mark Wallace, didn't return McClatchy News' requests for comment June 5. GBI's public affairs director, Nelly Miles, declined McClatchy News' request for comment because of the pending litigation. Watkins is represented by attorneys with Pfeiffer Rudolf, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based law firm that specializes in wrongful conviction cases, and attorney Henry C. Debardeleben, of Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial LLC in Atlanta. Attorney Sonya Pfeiffer, of Pfeiffer Rudolf, said in a statement to McClatchy News that 'since his release, and as recently as the past two months, Joey Watkins has been publicly and unjustly attacked despite his innocence.' 'The citizens of Floyd County, including the family of Isaac Dawkins, deserve to know the truth,' Pfeiffer said, adding that they intend to prove all facts made by the complaint. Watkins' constitutional claims against the defendants include: Concealment of exculpatory evidence Knowing and/or reckless use of false evidenceUnreasonable seizure and malicious prosecutionA municipal liability claimClaim for suppression of exculpatory evidence and deprivation of effective access to courts in violation of the First and Fourteenth amendments 'Worst prisons in Georgia' After Watkins' conviction, he sought a hearing to argue his innocence, but Floyd County police and GBI investigators continued to hide the truth, preventing his claim from being heard, the complaint says. He was then sentenced to life in prison, according to the complaint. Watkins, who was 20 years old at sentencing, told The Associated Press in September 2023 after his exoneration that he 'cried like a baby … just knowing that it was finally finished, finally over.' The efforts to hold Watkins responsible in Dawkins' killing, despite data from his cellphone that showed he wasn't in the area, led to his incarceration 'at some of the worst prisons in Georgia,' the complaint says. A group of inmates trying to steal from him broke Watkins' nose and front tooth in 2002 at Phillips State Prison 'when he resisted,' according to the filing. Throughout his incarceration, he faced further violence from inmates, resulting in a 'severe hernia in late 2005,' the complaint says. The medical care available in prison was lacking, according to the filing, which says Watkins 'had to live with the excruciating pain and persistent discomfort from that hernia until he was finally allowed to have surgery in 2016.' Watkins' wrongful imprisonment ended when he was released on bond in January 2023, before the case against him was dismissed months later,, according to the complaint. 'By the time he was set free, Watkins's parents were shells of their former selves,' the complaint says. 'Both were and remain in declining health and are broken financially after years of championing their son's cause and paying tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees in efforts to prove their son's innocence and wrongful conviction.' Watkins demands a jury trial and seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages. He's asking the court for punitive damages that will 'deter such conduct by Defendants and other officials and law enforcement officers in the future,' the complaint says.
