She had no shoes on...so he carried her.
I don't think she is wearing the same clothes she was wearing at the time she was taken, there was an article earlier that indicated those had been found.
She has a blanket.
She is holding onto him and does not appear frightened.
She is alert, not drugged.
I called and talked to my brother. he has a criminal record as long as my leg, including assault, arson, drugs, fleeing/eluding. And his past lost him all contact with his kids. Therefore, my big gang-banging brother that would rather kick butt first becomes a different man around kids. His demeanor changes, he stops cussing, he won't even speed. If I felt I had to, I would trust him with my kids.
I think this child might actually be in no real danger. The danger will come at the time of confrontation, if it comes at all. The traffic stop, the knock on the door, the minute his adrenaline starts kicking.
I can see him taking her in the night, maybe without the mother having any say in it. Maybe he had kids of his own before the baby's momma's got fed up with him being in and out of jail. Maybe she did go outside after a potty accident, or maybe her mom even put her outside after a potty accident and he did take her to keep her safe. I see his anger, and his defiance in his mug shot...but no hatred, no turning off of humanity.
I think she'll be okay, and I think he will drop her off, if he can find a place he thinks is safer. They need to start giving visual cues on the news as to where he could drop her. The big, brightly lit hospitals, fire stations in the area, all lit up, with Shaniya fliers on the door. Make it seem like Shaniya's safe place. Don't air a plea from the mother, but get her father back on the air, as much as he can handle, which won't be much.
I don't know what to think about the mother, but if it was planned, it was planned to keep Shaniya away from her father, not from DSS, or she would have gotten rid of both of them. If she did send Shaniya outside or something of the sort, I can see her trying to make it look better. "Put her on the couch at 5:30" sounds better than "sent her outside at 3".
I can see this man thinking he is saving her if her mother told him that her father was about to get her, and that the father was abusive.
That's my take on it, as far as I have gotten so far.