Mom, 4 children found safe in motel

The man harassed the woman for days before the kidnapping, police said.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
A mother and four children who police said were abducted from their Elkhart, Ind., home Saturday were found safe in a motel the same city Tuesday night, officials said.
The children's father, Jerry White, is accused of kidnapping them after shooting a man in their home Saturday morning. Police initially thought White might have fled to the Chicago area, where he once lived.
But on Tuesday night, Kimberly Walker, 31, and her children Jaylan, 9; Justin, 8; Kyara, 6; and Kayla, 16 months, were "doing well and are healthy" in the Elkhart area, police said.
White, 30, is in custody, police said.
White, Walker and the children were found at a motel in the Elkhart area about 7 p.m., police said. Police declined to say how they found the family in the motel.
The two cars police thought White might have had access to were found abandoned in Elkhart earlier in the week, Sgt. Bill Wargo said.
White, according to court records, allegedly has a history of kidnapping Walker. He pleaded guilty in 2003 to felony domestic battery for attacking Walker while she was leaving work, according to court records.
The more serious aggravated kidnapping charges were dropped.
Chicago police, the Illinois State Police and the FBI all had assisted in the investigation over the weekend.
What happened
Police said that White had been harassing Walker for several days before the shooting Saturday, and that her sister and her sister's boyfriend had been staying in their home.
Police think White broke into Walker's house about 2 a.m. Saturday and shot her sister's boyfriend, Lathie Turnage, 30, of Chicago, once in the face and once in the chest. Turnage remains in critical but stable condition.
White then held everyone captive until leaving with Walker and the children about 11:30 a.m., police said. An Amber Alert was issued soon afterward.
Officials initially had been concerned particularly with the well-being of Jaylan Walker, who has serious asthma and needs to use a ventilator every few hours.