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Statewide alert issued for 4-month-old taken from father's car in Southwest Ohio

Infant's mother lives in Mount Healthy
Posted at 5:02 AM, Aug 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-01 15:54:15-04

State and federal agents have joined the search for a 4-month-old girl whose father said someone took her from the back seat of his car Sunday night.

Loveland police said the father reported his baby, Kaylynn Crawford, was missing at about 8:40 p.m. Sunday. He told police she was taken in the parking lot of a Dollar General store.

Authorities issued an Ohio statewide alert for the child Monday morning. Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigations is the lead agency on the investigation and is getting help from the FBI and other local agencies.

Around 3 p.m. Monday, officials were dispatched to the Little Miami River near the intersection of Glendale-Milford Road and Beech Road.

Savalas Kidd, assistant special agent in charge with the Ohio BCI, said agents are working to firm up a timeline of the girl's disappearance and were canvassing areas of interest Monday.

"I don't even know where I am ... my daughter's missing," Kaylynn's father told dispatchers in a 911 call. "My child's been taken."

Kaylynn lives in Mount Healthy with her mother, police said, but her father had custody Sunday. Her father told police someone grabbed her out of his car and took off. Police say security video at the store has not been helpful in the case.

Kaylynn was last seen wearing a white lace dress with a pink giraffe on the front, pink leather sandals and a hat that matches her outfit with a gold knit band and bow, police said. She was in a pink car seat which is also missing.

A statewide endangered missing child advisory was issued by the Loveland Police Department at 6 a.m. Monday. It says while it is not an Amber Alert, the child is believed to be in danger.

Loveland Police do not currently have a suspect, but Sgt. Jose Alejandro said Urban Search and Rescue Team conducted a search at Kelley Nature Preserve until 4:30 a.m. Monday because they were able to ping a phone there. They have since expanded the search countywide.

"We're in the process of interviewing parents and witnesses, and that's all we've got at the moment," Alejandro said.

At 2 p.m., Loveland police updated the media, confirming that the investigation is ongoing and does not qualify as an AMBER Alert.

"We were told (by the Ohio State Highway Patrol) it qualified as an endangered child report, not an AMBER Alert, so that's what we filed," Loveland Police Chief Dennis Sean Rahe said.

Contact police by calling 911 or Loveland Police at 513-583-3000 if you have any information on the child's whereabouts.