Ga. cops: 2 kids missing after helper drives off

Ga. cops: 2 kids missing after helper drives off

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Authorities were searching today for two children who were reported kidnapped after a stranger offered to help the family when their car broke down on the side of an Atlanta-area interstate.

The family’s car broke down early today and a stranger stopped to help, according to a statement by the DeKalb County police. As the mother was making arrangements for a tow truck, the stranger drove off with the children in a 2000 to 2005 green Jeep Cherokee, police said.

The two children were identified as 3-year-old Jalen Mattison and 1-year-old Amari Mattison. A police spokeswoman said she did not have the mother’s name, adding the mother was with detectives this morning.

Police said the mother does not know the suspect. The family was driving a 1996 silver Volvo.