Missing Toddler Found in Phoenix

A search for a South Los Angeles toddler who authorities feared was abducted by a 16-year-old girl ended Sunday in Phoenix after the teenager gave the baby to a convenience store clerk and told the clerk to contact authorities, police said.

The toddler, 2-year-old Anthanija Wooley, is “safe and sound,” according to Los Angeles Police Det. Leo Kerchenske. He said the child will be held in foster care until arrangements are made to return her to Los Angeles.

Police said they still have no idea why Erika Miller, a friend of the child’s family, took the toddler from her aunt’s home Friday evening. Miller, they said, falsely told the aunt, who was baby-sitting Anthanija at the time, that she had permission from the child’s mother to take her overnight.

“It was not unusual for [Miller] to be around the child, but she did not have permission to be the sole caretaker of the child,” Kerchenske said. When Miller did not bring Anthanija back the next day, her aunt called the child’s mother, who notified authorities.

Miller’s whereabouts are unknown, and police are investigating the case as a possible kidnapping, Kerchenske said.