An Amber Alert that was issued for a Caledonia toddler has been canceled after the child was found safe in Sylvester, Ga.
Two-year-old Maliah Harris was found by Georgia law enforcement Wednesday around 11:30 p.m. after a traffic stop, according to officials with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department. She was with her parents Donald Harris, 34, and Allison Studdard, 31.
An Amber Alert was issued for the girl Wednesday morning after her 7-month-old sibling, Alyssa Harris, was found dead and her parents fled the scene, according to Chief Deputy Marc Miley.
The siblings’ grandfather discovered Alyssa’s body inside the family’s 1841 Honnell Mill Road home about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to investigators. He then called 911. While he was on the phone with 911, Harris and Studdard left the home with their 2-year-old daughter.
During the course of their investigation, sheriff’s deputies discovered methamphetamine at the Caledonia home. Two felony arrest warrants were issued for Harris and Studdard for possession of methamphetamine. The couple also had drugs in their possession at the time of their arrest in Georgia, according to Miley.
The couple is currently in the custody of Georgia law enforcement, Miley said. The child is in the custody of Department of Human Services in Georgia.
Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant said the initial autopsy of Alyssa Harris was inconclusive. Merchant said there is not yet an official cause of death. Further testing will be done by the crime lab and state medical examiner’s office, Merchant said.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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