KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A one-year-old girl who police say was kidnapped at gunpoint on Friday afternoon has returned home safely.
Police said the first calls for an emergency came in around 3 p.m. on Friday.
Mauricha Reed, the mother of one-year-old Shamya Reed, told 41 Action News that her ex-boyfriend, 18-year-old Ricardo Wheeler, had been making threatening phone calls throughout the day.
Reed then said Wheeler, who is Shamya’s father, showed up unexpectedly and allegedly pushed himself inside her apartment near 61st Street and Farrow Avenue.
“Out the blue, I hear him at the door,” she explained. “He just said, 'I'm here to get the baby. I'm here to get Shamya.'"
After allegedly forcing his way inside, Reed said Wheeler grabbed Shamya and her diaper bag before speeding away in a car with another woman allegedly armed with a gun.
Shamya’s grandmother, Andrea Randle, was returning home from a job interview and aware of what happened after a phone call with Mauricha when she saw Wheeler’s car.
“I ran into him on Leavenworth Road and I went on and chased the car down,” she explained. “I couldn't calm down. She's a one-year-old girl. Between the two of them, I didn't know what was going on."
The two suspects were able to get away, leaving Shamya’s family desperate for answers and help.
After police arrived to search for the one-year-old girl, the female suspect called Randle.
“She reached out to me and she agreed to meet up with me and give me the child back,” Randle explained. “I picked the child up from Hilltop Apartments (in KCMO).”
Randle then drove Shamya back home while feeling plenty of relief from the ordeal.
“The moment when I got her back in my arms, I was laughing and smiling,” Randle said. “It was bittersweet and she was crying."
41 Action News captured footage of the moment Randle arrived back at the KCK apartment with Shamya.
After an afternoon filled with terror and panic, her mother felt happiness after hugging her daughter later on Friday.
“It's still overwhelming,” she explained. “I'm still trying to calm down but I'm also happy that she's back."
As of Friday night, police were still looking for Wheeler and the unidentified female suspect.
Police first reported that the two were driving a 1990s gray Alero.
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