KCPD says 2 children missing since Nov. 9 have been found safe

UPDATE, 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27 | Kansas City, Missouri, police said two children who had been missing since Nov. 9 have been found and are safe.

ORIGINAL | Kansas City, Missouri, police on Friday urged anyone with information on two missing children to come forward.

Capt. David Jackson said there is “every indication” that Avontay Reed, 7, and Kelvontae Cooper, 5, are with someone in the Kansas City area.

“If you are that person and you don’t know what to do, call 911,” Jackson said. “You need to call, and you need to give these kids back to where they’re supposed to be.”

Jackson said anyone with information should call 911 or the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline at 816-474-8477 (TIPS).

“We believe that these kids are alive in the Kansas City metro area, and we want those people that have them to call 911,” he said.

Avontay and Kelvontae went missing on Nov. 9.

Authorities say the children’s mother, Mattina Marshall, 28, took them from their aunt’s home.

Marshall, who does not have custody of the children, was found Tuesday at a motel in St. Joseph, but the children were not with her. She was subsequently charged with two counts of kidnapping in connection with their disappearance.

Police say they have not issued an Amber Alert for the children because they have been in contact with the mother and because everyone involved in the case has said they do not believe the boys are in danger.

There is a $7,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of the children.