LAKEWOOD, Ohio — The Lakewood Police Department's search for a missing one-year-old girl is now in its fourth day Wednesday, with detectives planning to get specialist help from federal agencies if the search prolongs.
Investigators reported Choice Walters' mother took her away on Christmas Eve after she stabbed her husband, who is also the child's father.
When 3News met with Lakewood PD Wednesday, frustration could be sensed. They're desperate to find the child to make sure she's safe, but tell us they just have no strong leads to go on at this time.
“As the case continues, we still do not have a location of the one-year-old child or her mother,” said Cpt. Gary Stone. “The family has not given us any information on where she might have gone, who she might be with, who's driving her, et cetera. So we're just waiting to hear something.”
Lakewood Police say the suspect is the child's mother, 29-year-old Ariel Monae Walters, who is 5'4", 180 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. One-year-old Choice is described as having brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen at 12511 Clifton Blvd in Lakewood.
An Amber Alert for the child remains active.
Police said that they were called to Cove Park in Lakewood for a report of a man being attacked in the park at 2:20 a.m. on Sunday. Upon arriving at the scene, officers found that a 30-year-old man had been stabbed in the back.
Further investigation revealed that the victim was stabbed by his wife, Ariel Walters, who then fled the area with their daughter. Lakewood police told 3News that the victim was taken to MetroHealth with serious injuries.
Wednesday afternoon, Cpt. Stone told 3 News that they talked to the girl's mother several times on the phone in the earlier days of the investigation, but she wouldn't say where they were.
He then explained that detectives are trying to track the location of her cell phone based off those calls.
“I know that they've worked on some of those aspects and they're working with the technology to try to triangulate or determine exactly where she is," he detailed. "I believe as we speak that's being worked on now.”
He also said Walters doesn't have a vehicle, so they can't track her that way.
He said if any family knows where Ariel and Choice are, they aren't sharing what they know.
“There may be a possibility, but they're not giving us that information," he continued. "The family really isn't cooperating with us as far as where the mother and the child are.”
Detectives had checked out a place in Cleveland where they heard the pair might be, but they weren't there.
They're now hearing rumblings that the mother and child may be somewhere down in the southern U.S., but aren't sure if that's true.
So on Wednesday, Captain Stone said they are just waiting to hear something from Ariel, a family member, outside law enforcment agencies, or any witness that comes across them.
“At least she's with her mother," Stone said optimistically of the missing child, telling us he hopes her motherly love will keep the child unharmed, although Lakewood PD needs to see the child physically to ensure she's safe.
"We're glad that she's with her mother," he reiterated. "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. But 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."
Cpt. Stone said with this search starting to drag on, they are very close to bringing in specialist help from federal agencies.
He told us that by the end of this week they'll likely reach out to the U.S. Marshal Office's Fugitive Task Force, the FBI, and national missing children's networks for help.
He also shared an update on the status of the father.
“I am able to say that the male victim is still in the hospital," he said. "However, his condition has improved to where he's stable, so we're happy about that.”
He said they are still investigating what initially happened at the park.
“There was some sort of a Christmas get-together at their apartment in the 12500 block of Clifton Boulevard," he said. "The husband left the apartment, was walking around Cove Park. There's an asphalt path that goes around the perimeter of the park, and from what we're able to gather, his wife approached him and began stabbing him.”
An arrest warrant has been issued for Ariel Walters for attempted aggravated murder with a $500,000 bond.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lakewood Police Department at 216-521-6773.