3-year-old who went missing from Macon has been found safe, sheriff’s office says

A 3-year-old girl from Macon was found after she went missing for at least a week, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office told The Telegraph Friday.

The child, Zaryiah Storto-Shell, had last been seen on Cherry Street in downtown Macon on June 26 at 7 p.m., according to officials.

The sheriff’s office and Missouri State Highway Patrol issued endangered person advisories after Shell went missing.

The sheriff’s office said Rahim Mims, 34, was watching the child and hadn’t returned her by July 3, “after an outing approved by the child’s mother,” the sheriff’s office said.

Mims’ car was spotted that day at a QuikTrip gas station at 6551 E. Front St. in Kansas City, Missouri, according to the Missouri highway patrol. He drove a black 2007 Ford Explorer with a Missouri license plate.

The District Attorney’s Office will not pursue charges against Mims, Sgt. Christopher Williams told The Telegraph.

“The mother did not feel her child was in danger,” Williams said.

This story was originally published July 5, 2024 at 11:25 AM.