Officials Are ‘Amazed’ After Abducted 3-Year-Old Was Found Safe Following Amber Alert

Not all abduction stories have happy endings, but true crime fans will be glad to hear that a missing three-year-old was found safe after an Amber Alert was issued in her disappearance. WBTV reports that the little girl, Destiny Boykins, was allegedly abducted by her father, Maurice Knox, from an apartment building in Gastonia, NC, and the hunt ended in a car chase that could’ve turned deadly. Instead, the US Marshals Service found the toddler alive and well, admitting they were “amazed she made it out alive.”

Destiny was first reported missing on Sunday, Nov. 11, and according to The Charlotte Observer, originally the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police had issued an Amber Alert for a black Honda Accord. After finding the vehicle abandoned, they issued a second Amber Alert for a brown Nissan Altima, and tracked down Maurice, 57, on Interstate 77. When they attempted to pull him over, he began to flee in his vehicle, and the officers gave chase.

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It wasn’t long, though, before the father crashed into two other cars as he attempted to exit the freeway. WBTV says that officials report that he was “driving while impaired,” and that Destiny was buckled into the passenger seat instead of in a car seat in the back. That was why officials were so surprised — and thankful — that she had survived the crash. The driver, on the other hand, was found unconscious at the scene. Both were taken to the hospital to be checked out for non-life threatening injuries.

While the three-year-old was safely returned to her mother later that day, Maurice was charged with “domestic criminal trespass, breaking and entering, assault on a female, felonious restraint, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer, child endangerment, and careless and reckless driving.” The laundry list of charges may only grow as WBTV reports that officers also obtained warrants for his arrest for “DWI, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of felony serious injury by motor vehicle, felony flee to elude a law enforcement officer, felony child abuse/neglect, and reckless driving.”

That’s not all. WBTV is also reporting that Maurice violated a domestic violence protection order in Gaston County, and that even more charges may be on the way. Happy endings are few and far between when it comes to stories like this, so we’re just glad to hear that Destiny is home with her mom and seems to be recovering okay — and that the whole ordeal was wrapped up relatively quickly.