Live Mic: How a kidnapped baby was found safe

SALT LAKE CITY — Tiffany Bingham and her sister are the ones who found a 10-month-old baby who was the subject of Wednesday’s Amber Alert. She joined Live Mic with Lee Lonsberry Friday to break down how it all came together to end with the baby back with her family. 

Bingham spoke about how she went from heartbreak to overwhelming joy in finding a kidnapped baby who had been abducted from a idling car.

How kidnapped baby was found

Bingham explained how Amila, the 10-months-old girl, was reunited with her parents after thieves stole an idling car with the baby in the backseat.

Bingham, who is a stay-at-home mom for her two young children, heard the Amber Alert, opened her phone and read about the missing child on the Ogden Police Department’s Facebook page.

According to police, Amila Spratley-Apke was buckled into her car seat in the back of a gray 2008 Acura TL, which was left running as reported by KSLNewsRadio during the morning of the abduction.

“That’s your worst nightmare for your child to go missing, let alone to be kidnapped. Every Amber Alert you see you feel sad, but this one I felt particular drawn to,” Bingham said. “I started crying.”

Sister joins the hunt

She told her sons they needed to say a prayer so Amila could be reunited with her mother and father.

Bingham said she opened her phone again to find that her sister Mindy Mitchell — who lives across the street from Bingham — had posted on their  community website that she thought she had spotted the Acura and called police.

After reading the post on the community page, Bingham called her sister who said, “I just have this feeling that this is really the car.”

Bingham told her sister that she was going to join her in searching for the kidnapped toddler. She strapped her two kids into their car seats and as she was backing her car out of the driveway, she spotted someone running down the street into a neighbor’s yard a couple of houses down the street. When she approached in her car, she noticed the person running was her sister.

Baby Amila had been left in her car seat on her neighbor’s front porch.

Mindy called 911. She had been out looking for Amila when she heard the baby fussing. Amila had been abducted at 10:45 a.m. and the baby was discovered about 12:40 p.m., according to Bingham.

“That’s quite a while for a 10-month-old girl to be strapped in a car seat. I got her out of the car seat and she was extremely happy from there on out,” Bingham said. “Other than a diaper change, it was apparent that she had not been harmed. She had a very wet diaper.”

“Were you able to change that for her?” Lee asked. 

Bingham asked to change Amila’s diaper, but police told her she could not because it was a crime scene.

“But they did come and ask me for a diaper after,” Bingham said. 

Bingham said that Amila’s mother, Breesha Spratley, reached out to her later. They have plans to all gather together on Saturday at Bingham’s home so that they can show the parents what happened during the kidnapping.

According to KSL reporters Paul Nelson and Becky Bruce: Ogden police said the suspects led officers on a short chase, but a helicopter was able to follow them. Angel Jusso and Roddy Montes were taken into custody in Plain City shortly afterward.

Also, the Acura has been returned to its owner.

News story on KSL: Finding Amila

Live Mic with Lee Lonsberry can be heard weekdays from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app.