Macon man arrested, accused of putting child in ‘extreme danger’ in kidnapping

A father was arrested Sunday in Florida after he allegedly kidnapped his months-old son in Macon, law enforcement officials said.

The child was “believed to be in extreme danger,” according to an Amber Alert from the the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The child was taken on Sunday from his mother by his father, 23-year-old Maurtez Rashaad Edwards, and missing for about six hours, before authorities found him and Edwards in the Florida Panhandle, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said.

What happened

Bibb County deputies were initially called regarding a “domestic dispute,” a news release from the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies responded to a home where the child was allegedly abducted from at Autumn Trace Apartments at 1745 Rocky Creek Road. They also responded to Edwards’ home, which was a different location, but didn’t find him, according to Capt. Linda Howard.

The sheriff’s office requested the activation of the Amber Alert, which was issued around 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Florida State Patrol and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office helped find Edwards and the child around 5:30 p.m. in Liberty County, Florida, according to a news release from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and a Facebook post by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.

The child was found safe and Edwards was arrested, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said.

It was “a major incident,” the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Sunday night.

This story may be updated as more information becomes available.

This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 12:18 PM.