LOXLEY, Ala. — A 5-year-old South Loxley boy was found “tired but unharmed” according to Loxley police chief John Cason in Mobile around 9:30 p.m. Feb. 25.

Cason says that it appears Conner Allen Chase was taken from his home by his father, Timothy Wakefield. According to police, Wakefield does not have custody of the boy.

Police say Wakefield and the child’s mother argued Monday about Wakefield’s drug use.

According to a Loxley Police Department press release, “The following morning she (the mother) went to work at 4:45 a.m. and Wakefield was supposed to drop the children off at day care. That afternoon when she went to get the children from the daycare she learned that Wakefield had only left the 3 month old. When she questioned the daycare she was told that Wakefield had only dropped off the one child Tuesday (Feb. 24) morning.”

The 3-month old was unharmed. There are two children in the family.

Cason says the mother contacted Loxley police because she was “… concerned for the safety of the child due to Wakefield’s drug use.”

The pair were found after the Loxley Police Department put out a NCIC (National Crime Information Center) search for Wakefield and the boy, giving a description of Wakefield and his vehicle.

The local police also got help from Faye Hester with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Cason says.

Hester was able to use her affiliation with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children to put out a news release that resulted in about 90 calls to the department.

Using the information from those calls, Cason says police were able to determine that Wakefield and the boy were in the vicinity of Government and Broad Streets in Mobile.

According to Cason, “Mobile Police Department routed several patrol units to the area and was able to locate Wakefield and the child.’”

The child was later returned to his mother.

As of this writing, Wakefield is in the Baldwin County jail, charged with “endangering the welfare of a child and interference with custody,” according to Cason.

Cason says the investigation is continuing and more charges could be brought against Wakefield.

“I also would like to thank the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the Mobile Police Department for their critical role in locating and returning the child to his mother,” Cason said.