LAKEWOOD, Ohio — A five-day Amber Alert out of Lakewood has been canceled after police say a 1-year-old child was safely returned.
According to both the city and Cuyahoga County, Choice Walters was brought to the Lakewood Police Department around 4 p.m. Friday and "appears healthy." The toddler was allegedly taken by her mother, Ariel Monroe Walters, after the suspect stabbed her husband early on Christmas Eve morning.
Per officials, Ariel Walters' attorney brought both mother and child to the police department, and while authorities have not announced any criminal charges at this time, law enforcement heads expect to release more information "in a few days." At the moment, Choice has been placed in the custody of the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services.
The ordeal began this past Sunday around 2:20 a.m., when officers were called to Cove Park for a report of a man being attacked. Police eventually found the 30-year-old victim with a stab wound to the neck, and he told officials his wife was the one who had harmed him. He was subsequently taken to MetroHealth Medical Center with serious injuries, and has since been upgraded to stable condition.
In the days that followed, authorities told 3News they had spoken to Ariel Walters a number of times over the phone, but she would not reveal where she and Choice were and did not own a vehicle that could be tracked. Despite this, Lakewood Police Captain Gary Stone expressed relief that Choice was with her mother, stressing his belief Ariel was unlikely to hurt her child.
"Most likely the mother fled because she's afraid of what's going to happen to her as far as prosecution for assaulting her husband," Stone said. "There's always a concern when a person has that kind of despondency in their mind and is with their child. But we just will do our best to find her and locate her and arrest this woman and see that the child is brought to a place safely."
Although no formal charges have been announced, an arrest warrant for Ariel Walters had previously been issued for attempted aggravated murder, carrying a potential $500,000 bond.