WEST LAFAYETTE, IN — Police suspect a babysitter abducted a 6-month-old girl she was supposed to be watching, West Lafayette police Lt. Jon Eager said.
Jasmine O’Sullivan, 22, who is believed to be of Leavenworth, Indiana, was seen riding in a small SUV leaving the Country Villa Apartments in West Lafayette about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, according to West Lafayette police. The baby’s family reported her missing about 5:45 p.m. Thursday.
O’Sullivan bought a bus ticket to Louisville for herself and the baby, but someone on the bus noticed West Lafayette police social media posts about the abduction. The bus passenger recognized the baby and called police, Eager said.
After receiving that tip, Eager described a frantic flurry of phone calls by a team of West Lafayette officers to law enforcement agencies in the Louisville area. The Louisville officers were waiting at the bus depot, and the child was safely removed from the bus, checked at a hospital as a precaution and returned to her mother.
The FBI is now heading the investigation, and U.S. attorneys will decide what charges to pursue, Eager said. An FBI news release is expected later Friday.
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan is arrested and incarcerated pending charges, Eager said.
Eager noticed social media posts wondering why an Amber Alert was not pushed out. That literally was the first thing West Lafayette police tried to get out to the public, Eager said, but the information they had about the abduction didn’t meet the criteria for an Amber Alert and the request and revised requests were rejected.
That’s when Chief Adam Ferguson began using the department’s social media accounts to push out the information, Eager said, which caught the attention of the bus passenger who called police.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Babysitter arrested in Louisville on suspicion of abducting 6-month-old
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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By Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
