2-Year-Old Midlands Girl Found Safe In Iowa After Parents Fled Law Enforcement

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CAMDEN, SC (WOLO)–  After a month of searching for a toddler, she is now safe and expected to come back to the Midlands all the way from Decorah, Iowa. Multiple state law enforcement agencies had to lend a hand to Camden’s Police Department search. Law enforcement across the country helped get 2-year-old Dakota Ray to safety. The Ray family drove more than 1,100 miles, nearly 17 hours, fleeing law enforcement, but their trip finally came to an end.

Thanks to good samaritans from 8 states, Detective Sergeant Tyrrell Coleman stayed close on the heels of Jessica and William Ray, the parents of Dakota, who ran off with her right before they were to give her up to the Department of Social Services.

“This is probably the best team effort from law enforcement I’ve seen in a long time. Just because, I’ve called numerous law enforcement agencies from the time they left… every officer I talked to was like, ‘What’d you need? How can I help you? Is there anything I can do?” Coleman said. 

Coleman said Jessica and William are known substance abusers, so when they took off with Dakota on April 16th, they knew they had to look for her. But since the state did not have custody of Dakota yet an Amber alert could not be issued. That is when the National Center for Missing and Exploited children and SLED Fusion and even Live PD stepped in, helping get the word out to law enforcement across the country.

“When it’s a case that involves a child everybody steps in, everybody pitches in, and that’s what we’ve seen from the public as well,” Dan Marx said, sheriff of Winneshiek County in Iowa

Also, thanks to social media and tips from the public, law enforcement was able to catch up to the Rays. Coleman said they were spotted at a hospital, and a pharmacy, and finally at Walmart, going from North Dakota, Iowa, up to Minnesota, and then back to Iowa. That is when Winneshiek County Sheriff’s were able to capture them.  

“We don’t lose hope. It seems grim some days, I’ll tell you yesterday was one of those days it was just going, going, going, going, but we never lost hope. We knew it was going to work out. Prayer,” Coleman said.

Police said the Rays will not be charged with kidnapping, but William Ray faces $10-thousand dollar bond for felony theft, operating a non-registered vehicle, no valid driver’s license, among other charges in Iowa. He also faces no-bond for charges has back here in South Carolina.

Jessica is facing 5th-degree theft charges.

Coleman says Dakota is safe, with DSS in Iowa, and will be back in the Midlands by the end of the week.