TABOR CITY, N.C. (WNCN) – The second suspect in the abduction of a 4-month-old in Bladen County was arrested Thursday afternoon, according to the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office.
Lonnie Lee Williams, 29, of Tabor City was arrested without incident in Columbus County.
The investigation led authorities to believe Williams was with Juanita Askew when she took her child from a daycare.
Askew then dropped off Williams somewhere in Columbus County and fled to Hoke County, where she stayed with a friend Monday night before driving to meet a family member in Lumberton to give them her daughter.
Askew was arrested when she arrived at that exchange in Lumberton.
Williams is charged with abduction of a child for his involvement in taking the child from the daycare. He also had an outstanding warrant for felony probation violation. He is being held on a $300,000 bond, the sheriff’s office said.
“I wish to thank everyone who has helped us in this case,” Sheriff James McVicker said in a news release. “My office worked diligently on this case but we did not work alone. We had the help of a lot of law enforcement agencies and other government agencies. I said at the beginning of this case that our number one priority was to find the child before any harm could come to her and by the grace of the good Lord we were able to do that. I will never forget seeing that precious child and knowing she was okay and safe. When people ask officers why they do this job this is the kind of case we point to as our reason for being law enforcement officers.”
