The Thomas family's joyous screams rang throughout the cold Thursday night air, and across a Lowes parking lot in Whitehall, as family and search party members got the Christmas miracle news.
Kason Thomas, a missing 5-month-old Columbus twin, had been found 175 miles away in Indianapolis.
He was found inside his mother's stolen 2010 Honda Accord at about 6:46 p.m. in the parking lot of a Papa John's pizza by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD).
Thomas twins kidnaping timeline:Timeline: The search for missing Columbus baby Kason Thomas
The child, who appeared in good health and was breathing normally, was still wearing the same brown onesie he had on when he was last seen Monday night. He was being taken to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis to be checked out as a precaution.
Minutes before the good news, family members were begging for anyone with information about the infant's location to come forward. Nalah T. Jackson, 24, whom Columbus police have charged with kidnapping Kason and his twin brother, Kyair, stole a running car from a Donatos Pizza in the Short North with the twins inside around 9:45 p.m. Monday night.
Two and a half days later, Jackson was arrested by IMPD around 2 p.m. on Thursday. But Kason was not with her.
Police allege Jackson had left Kyair Thomas in his car carrier seat with a quilt wrapped around him in a parking lot at Dayton International Airport where he was found between two vehicles about 4:15 a.m. Tuesday by a passerby.
How Kason Thomas was found
IMPD told WXIN/WTTV that officers were eating at a nearby restaurant Thursday evening when a woman ran in to report that there was a baby left alone in a car in the Papa John's parking lot at 955 Indiana Ave. near 10th Street. Police determined the missing car had been parked in the Papa John’s parking lot for about two days.
Back in the Columbus area, family and friends of the Thomas twins were now celebrating with hot chocolate from a nearby McDonald's.
The twins' paternal grandmother, Fonda Thomas, told The Dispatch that she was elated he had been found alive after three days of searching.
"My tears have turned to joy," she said.
Nearly three days after he was kidnapped, Kason was expected to be reunited Thursday night with his family — his father Lachez Thomas immediately drove off and was bound for Indianapolis after getting word his son had been found.
"This means everything," Fonda Thomas said. "My grandsons get to open up they presents simultaneously. Not one alone, wishing that the other one was there. I'm so happy. I'm so grateful."
In a statement Thursday night, Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant said she was grateful to the public for their help in locating Kason, and for the officers from the police division and more than a dozen other police agencies who worked on the case.
More on the Columbus twins' kidnaping:What we know about Columbus missing twins suspect Nalah T. Jackson and her Dayton ties
"They never stopped, never gave up hope, and would not rest until Kason was found," Bryant said. "We are beyond thankful for their relentless dedication."
The twins' grandmother said the family has been frustrated and fearful, especially following news earlier in the night that Kason was not found with Jackson when she was arrested earlier Thursday.
"The days have been sad ... they've been long," she said. "And I'm pretty sure all y'all have gone through the same emotions with us. But now to feel the joy to happiness, and just the overall graciousness in my heart from everyone else."
Thomas recalled "the cheer ... the happiness" in her son's voice.
"That he knows that his son is safe, healthy, and he is going to go get him. That's going to make my Christmas the best Christmas I've had in my 44 years of life," she said.
Kidnapping suspect Nalah T. Jackson arrested in Indiana
Columbus police Deputy Chief Smith Weir reported at a late Thursday afternoon press conference that the police division had received more than 3,000 tips about the kidnapped twins.
Jackson was charged with two counts of kidnapping on Tuesday, and likely faces additional charges, including child endangerment and vehicle theft.
Jackson's arrest was the result of tips received by Columbus police and police urging a tipster to call 911 in Indianapolis. Police there stopped Jackson and took her into custody. Fingerprints confirmed Jackson's identity.
Columbus police had searched for Kason in Columbus, the Dayton area, and Indianapolis.
Where is missing twin Kason Thomas?
The 5-month-old will be home for Christmas.
When Kason's whereabouts were uncertain earlier Thursday, many worried as a winter storm was moving into Indiana en route to Ohio late Thursday night into Friday morning. The weather in Indianapolis dropped from the 40s in the afternoon to 13 degrees with snow falling and icy conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
Gov. Mike DeWine expressed his anguish for the Thomas family earlier in the day, before news of Kason's recovery.
“Our hearts go out to the family. I cannot think of anything that’s more of a parent’s nightmare than to have children kidnapped," the governor said. "Our prayers are with the family and hoping that the second child will be reunited with the family. The highway patrol have been regularly involved in this and offering assistance. We will continue to do that.”
Three Columbus police detectives were en route to Indianapolis to join in the questioning of Jackson, Weir said. They are part of a team of detectives — 12 in total — that searched for Kason in Dayton, where his twin brother, Kyair, was found early Tuesday.
Nalah Jackson's history of child endangerment
Over the past two months, Jackson made three visits to Riverside, a suburb of Dayton, in an attempt to contact her two daughters, according to incident reports from the Riverside Police Department. The latest visit occurred on Dec. 15.
Dominic Davies, Jackson's ex-boyfriend and the father of her daughters, told Riverside police he has full custody of the girls because of Jackson's drug abuse and mental illness.
In an interview with The Dispatch on Thursday, Davies said Jackson is "like a different person" now than the woman he met and had a relationship with between 2017-2019.
She had previous run-ins with law enforcement on child endangerment charges and allegations, Franklin County Municipal Court records show.
In June 2021 Jackson pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges after her 11-month-old daughter fell down an apartment staircase, according to court records. She had refused to open the door for emergency medical personnel and the door had to be broken into to render aid. She was given a short jail sentence and was placed on probation until 2023.
More on suspect Nalah Jackson:Ex-boyfriend of suspect in Columbus infant abduction: 'She's like a different person'
Months later, in September 2021, Jackson was accused of attempting to abduct her own children from the National Youth Advocacy Center, a protective services agency, which held emergency custody over her children, Columbus police reported.
Davies reported he filed police reports each time after his ex-girlfriend came to his home in Riverside —demanding to see their 4-year-old and 2-year-old daughters. In one instance when the girls were at his mother's house in November and he had refused to let see them, Davies told police Jackson punched the side of his face multiple times.
He had even obtained a protection order against Jackson.
