Newborn baby found near Big Lots in Durham, Amber Alert canceled
Authorities said they found a missing baby after an Amber Alert was issued for the child Monday.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert for Jaxton Brown around 7 p.m. Monday and found him in Durham around 8:45 p.m. near the Big Lots off of Southwest Durham Drive and Witherspoon Boulevard.
Jaxton, who was born on Feb. 18, was not harmed.
Investigators with the Chapel Hill Police Department believed Brown was in danger when the alert went out. Authorities did not say why they felt the child was in danger.
The baby's parents, Destinee Ariel Cothran and Justin Lee Brown, were listed as suspects in the abduction of the baby.
Security video from Big Lots showed the couple remove the baby from a car listed in the Amber Alert and take the carrier to the woods.
As of Tuesday, Cothran, 26, and Brown, 29, are not in custody.
Authorities believed the baby and couple were traveling in a white 1997 Mercury Mystique. Authorities found the car abandoned near where the baby was found. On Tuesday, the car was still parked near Big Lots. WRAL reporter Chelsea Donovan found Brown's wallet near the car.
When the Amber Alert was first issued, authorities said the three were last seen Friday at 5623 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. in Durham – where the Chapel Hill-Durham Red Roof Inn is located. Hotel employees declined an interview request with WRAL News on Monday.
On Tuesday, a town of Chapel Hill spokesperson clarified that Child Protective Services had a court order for custody of Jaxton and asked the city's police force for help in finding him Friday. On Monday, the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons determined the case met the requirements for an Amber Alert.
No charges had been filed as of Tuesday morning.
Baby's parents have long criminal histories
The baby's father has been convicted of multiple DWI charges, and a previous girlfriend charged him with assault in 2015.
In August 2015, Brown was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend at the time – who was not Cothran. Court documents said the woman's son was present at the time of the assault. A domestic violence protection order was filed against Brown. The order said Brown had a history of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect.
An arrest warrant also revealed that Cothran was charged with DWI and possession of heroin on May 31, 2023, when she was found slumped in her vehicle with needles and arm bands visible. Orange County Department of Social Services issued a civil summons against Cothran on Feb. 14 for failure to pay child support for her other three children, ages 6, 5 and 3.
