Search for Alabama Toddler Kidnapped From Party Expands to Other States as Authorities Release New Pictures

Search for Alabama Toddler Kidnapped From Party Expands to Other States as Authorities Release New Pictures
Kamille "Cupcake" McKinney in photographs released by the authorities. (ALEA and FBI)
Zachary Stieber
10/15/2019
Updated:
10/15/2019
The search for a 3-year-old girl who was kidnapped from her birthday party in Alabama over the weekend has expanded to include other states, including Tennessee and Georgia.

Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney was taken from her party in Avondale around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 by a stranger driving a dark SUV, witnesses told police. A man and woman were in the vehicle.

The SUV was towed from the apartment complex after it was spotted there on Sunday and a man and a woman were taken into custody as persons of interest.

An Amber Alert was issued late Saturday and expanded on Monday to include states surrounding Alabama “to ensure that we have coverage and that we’re providing a great web for the entire area,” Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith said at a press conference.

The search has been “exhaustive” so far, he added. Investigators have not received any information regarding the whereabouts of the girl as of yet.

Surveillance photos show the suspect authorities believe captured Kamille McKinney on Oct. 12, 2019. (FBI)
Surveillance photos show the suspect authorities believe captured Kamille McKinney on Oct. 12, 2019. (FBI)

“We will not end our command post or our search until we’ve found some resolution. We’re going to stay committed to locating this 3-year-old baby,” Smith said. “This affects the entire city, it affects the state, and I think everybody wants to see this baby found and back home.”

Kamille’s parents have asked people to stay alert.

“We just want the baby back. I’m not gonna stop until we get my baby back,” Kamille’s father told WAFF.

“I mean she’s three, man. She’s innocent. I just want my baby back at the end of the day like anybody else would.”

Relatives and others urged the kidnappers to let the girl go.

“Everybody knows Cupcake out here. This girl, this baby, is looking for her mother and her father,’’ said Tina Powell, a close friend of the girl’s family, at a vigil on Monday night, reported AL.com. “She don’t understand who took her and she needs to come home.”

“She cannot tell on you. She cannot do anything to harm you, so if you have any heart please let her go,’’ said Jasmaine Deloach, head of Angel Arms Operation Exploited and Missing Persons in Birmingham.

The SUV authorities say was used to kidnap Kamille McKinney. (FBI)
The SUV authorities say was used to kidnap Kamille McKinney. (FBI)

“If you have a problem with the police, I will meet you somewhere to get that child. I do not want you to harm her. Please don’t panic. Don’t have hate in your heart,” Deloach added.

Retired police officer Ken Jefferson said members of the public should keep an eye out but not approach the girl themselves if they spot her.

“Do not approach the child unless the child is alone and seems to be stranded. If the child is with an adult you don’t want to approach because you don’t know the mindset of the person with the child. It could be the wrong child, [you] could be asking for trouble,” said Jefferson.

Jefferson said people can share Kamille’s pictures online and in the community.

Anyone with information was asked to call a hotline at (205) 297-8413, 911, or CrimeStoppers at 205-254-7777.