Found Safe GA - Blaise Barnett, 1, sitting in car when stolen, later found abandoned, Clarkston, 10 Nov 2021

[PigPong]

Has anyone else checked the bus schedule?

IF that stop near their neighborhood is the Montreal Rd & Montreal Cir location, the last scheduled stop for a weeknight is 12:13am, with the earliest morning stop scheduled for 5:37am. Don’t get me wrong, MARTA busses have been late before, but either I am looking at the wrong location or there probably wasn’t a bus dropping anyone off at that time. OR we’ve been given the wrong timeline.

Can anyone confirm this would be the correct stop?

MARTA

I guess I've lived here so long I didn't take their statement that the teenager was by the bus stop to mean he was actually waiting for the bus. Just that he was near it.

And if it's a sheltered stop, it's not uncommon to see people using them even after busses stop running.

 

[PigPong]

RSBM.

.....or was it staged?

If this wasn't staged I'll eat my phone.

The clues are in moms statement about his being cold and asking the kidnapper to be patient with his crying.

And the dads statement... let me find it...


Here is dad's statement:
"I just kept saying this is a dream. This just can’t be real,” Xavier Barnett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from outside his Clarkston apartment as the search for his son continued into Wednesday night

Cops find stolen SUV, but Clarkston 1-year-old still missing

Personally, I don't think this went down like what's been reported. Ultimately I believe it was staged as well.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

I’m praying they find this little guy and he is safe.
There are though some things that are strange to me.
Shopping at 1am is done. My son works for a TV station and doesn’t get off till midnight, so that’s shopping time for him and others. But...taking the whole family with you is a little weird. These aspects could easily be put to rest but no one has chosen to explain it.
The big thing for me is this. I can think of cases over the years where someone jumps in a car and steals it not realizing a child is in there. The vast majority end up with the child being found within hours, either in the car or put out somewhere safe. The crook wants the car not the child. So the fact that the car was found but the little guy was not there is very very odd to me and hoists a few red flags.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

I’m praying they find this little guy and he is safe.
There are though some things that are strange to me.
1) Shopping at 1am is done. My son works for a TV station and doesn’t get off till midnight, so that’s shopping time for him and others. But...taking the whole family with you is a little weird. These aspects could easily be put to rest but no one has chosen to explain it.
2) The big thing for me is this. I can think of cases over the years where someone jumps in a car and steals it not realizing a child is in there. The vast majority end up with the child being found within hours, either in the car or put out somewhere safe. The crook wants the car not the child. So the fact that the car was found but the little guy was not there is very very odd to me and hoists a few red flags.


Edit: Sorry for the double post.

 

[PigPong]

I wonder if either parent had problems with anyone...some random person who was just looking for a car to steal wouldn't have ditched the car but kept the baby. Maybe the family was specifically targeted for some reason.

I think this is absolutely within the realm of possibility.

Even if that's what happened, I still have problems with the 30 second timeline.

 

[CrimeAway]

CCTV shows parents entering apartment complex.

I watched this on the actual youtube site. The comments are interesting.

 

[GailAnne]

How did the car thief find the keys so fast in the dark, in the bottom of a dark cup holder. Every vehicle we've ever had, one would have to deliberately move your body and head forward to look into the cup holders to see anything like keys in them. 30 seconds in the dark? Not likely!

 

[TGIRecovered]

I’m praying they find this little guy and he is safe.
There are though some things that are strange to me.
1) Shopping at 1am is done. My son works for a TV station and doesn’t get off till midnight, so that’s shopping time for him and others. But...taking the whole family with you is a little weird. These aspects could easily be put to rest but no one has chosen to explain it.
2) The big thing for me is this. I can think of cases over the years where someone jumps in a car and steals it not realizing a child is in there. The vast majority end up with the child being found within hours, either in the car or put out somewhere safe. The crook wants the car not the child. So the fact that the car was found but the little guy was not there is very very odd to me and hoists a few red flags.

The parents reported that the baby was last seen wrapped in a blanket, wearing a diaper but no pants. OK, picture that.

Now, put the wrapped baby (1 yr old toddler, not a tiny newborn), in the carseat and fasten him in. 3 point harness, over both shoulders, fastened to strap between the legs. Is he still wrapped in the blanket?

If a parent has used that same carseat to transport that baby when he was wearing a layer or two of clothing, even a jacket, the straps aren't going to be adjusted long enough to fit around a baby wrapped in a blanket. MOO

Has there been any indication from parents or authorities that the carseat was still in the car after it was found? Did anyone in the area the car was found report a baby crying in the night?

 

[MimosaMornings]

How did the car thief find the keys so fast in the dark, in the bottom of a dark cup holder. Every vehicle we've ever had, one would have to deliberately move your body and head forward to look into the cup holders to see anything like keys in them. 30 seconds in the dark? Not likely!

The guys stealing cars out of driveways in the neighborhoods around here are either using their phone or wearing a small headlamp flashlight.
JMO

 

[alucardsdream]

How did the car thief find the keys so fast in the dark, in the bottom of a dark cup holder. Every vehicle we've ever had, one would have to deliberately move your body and head forward to look into the cup holders to see anything like keys in them. 30 seconds in the dark? Not likely!

He managed to find the keys in the dark but somehow missed the child in the backseat...

 

[Angleterre]

I wonder if the father is being a little dishonest and he actually left the car running? I could see twisting that portion of the story to remove a bit of the blame from himself. It actually turns my hinky meter way down if the car was left running.

Since there was an Amber Alert issued, I could see the thief ditching the car quickly when they received that alert. However, I don't think your basic car thief would keep the baby unless maybe they panicked and are now trying to figure out what to do with him?

I understand what you mean but there would be no need to leave it running that I can see. They had finished their journey as opposed to say for example, going out on a frosty morning and starting the car running for dual purpose, whilst stationary :
1. To defrost the windows more quickly
2. To warm up the inside more quickly
And then maybe putting the baby / child in the car seat and then remembering something that you quickly run back in to get , but leaving the child still in its seat as you believe you will literally be 30 seconds and therefore safe . I could go with the scenario that way around but not the way which is being claimed. I must admit that I’m finding the circumstances as reported, difficult to understand and believe right now and I have had experience of such, more than the average person, in my role of Police Officer since I started in 1988 and nothing that I can recall when dealing with similar situations, reads like this . I am not victim blaming here at all but I am trying to understand more fully , just what has happened. All MOO

 

[Cubby]

CCTV shows parents entering apartment complex.

Did I see correctly that the car was found in a garage?

 

[CrimeAway]

Did I see correctly that the car was found in a garage?

Yes, I believe so, from seeing news reports. It was at another apartment complex however.

 

[LaborDayRN]

I watched this on the actual youtube site. The comments are interesting.

They sure are.

 

[Cubby]

The parents reported that the baby was last seen wrapped in a blanket, wearing a diaper but no pants. OK, picture that.

Now, put the wrapped baby (1 yr old toddler, not a tiny newborn), in the carseat and fasten him in. 3 point harness, over both shoulders, fastened to strap between the legs. Is he still wrapped in the blanket?

If a parent has used that same carseat to transport that baby when he was wearing a layer or two of clothing, even a jacket, the straps aren't going to be adjusted long enough to fit around a baby wrapped in a blanket. MOO

Has there been any indication from parents or authorities that the carseat was still in the car after it was found? Did anyone in the area the car was found report a baby crying in the night?

There is a button at the bottom of a car seat which allows easy loosening or tightening of car seat straps. It only takes a few seconds to use.

Plus, the blanket could be placed over the strapped in child and tucked under his legs.

 

[ClaireNC]

Has it been reported where the family was before they came home at 1 am? Were they out somewhere for the evening and stopped for groceries while out? Or did they load up two small children for a midnight trip out to the store?

 

[Angleterre]

I know we live in a 24/7 society but seems more than a bit strange to be grocery shopping at 1AM with very young children. Indeed, there may be a very ordinary (if unusual) reason but it still strikes me as odd.
JMO

I agree. I oftentimes would go to the 24 hour Supermarket to do the grocery shopping at 11pm because I could do it in a third of the time that it would normally take and my ex husband would stay home with the twins asleep in their nursery and that worked for us but I wouldn’t even contemplate waking up the children and going grocery shopping with my ex husband in tow, the four of us at 11pm at night . Even when I became a single Mum and throughout the week it was just the twins and I, I either got whatever was required during the day time or if it was something unforseeable, then at a push I would load the twins into the car and go to the store but if it was after their 7pm bedtime then we just had to do without until the following day, I just had to plan as much as possible no matter how tired I was…….

 

[Allabouttrial]

Did I see correctly that the car was found in a garage?

No I believe MSM show the car being towed and then put into police storage for evidence collection.

"The Explorer, which had paper tags, was obscured by bushes at the vacant Brannon Hills Condominiums complex along Memorial College Avenue, police said. It was towed from the scene by a wrecker, and Clarkston police later confirmed the child’s car seat was also missing from the vehicle."

Cops find stolen SUV, but Clarkston 1-year-old still missing



Google Maps

 

[realanastasia]

The parents reported that the baby was last seen wrapped in a blanket, wearing a diaper but no pants.

I know this took place in Georgia, but I would still think the late evening temperatures get low enough that a blanket and diaper would offer inadequate protection from the cold, particularly for an infant. Am not a parent myself so I'm hoping others can share their thoughts on whether or not this is reasonable or even understandable (I could see someone taking a baby out with clothing on but no diaper, in the event that they had run out of diapers and were making an emergency run to the store to get them, but taking a baby out very late at night with no actual clothing on its body just seems…odd).

Edited to add: it looks like the temperature around the time of this child’s disappearance was between 46-50 F. That is (IMO) definitely too chilly for a baby to be out-of-doors without adequate clothing! Past Weather in City of Clarkston, Georgia, USA — Yesterday or Further Back

 

[IceIce9]

I know this took place in Georgia, but I would still think the late evening temperatures get low enough that a blanket and diaper would offer inadequate protection from the cold, particularly for an infant. Am not a parent myself so I'm hoping others can share their thoughts on whether or not this is reasonable or even understandable (I could see someone taking a baby out with clothing on but no diaper, in the event that they had run out of diapers and were making an emergency run to the store to get them, but taking a baby out very late at night with no actual clothing on its body just seems…odd).

Wondering if they took the baby inside the store with them? Or did one parent stay in the car with the baby? Surely someone in the store the store would have noticed a baby wrapped in a blanket at 1:00 am?