missing child

Dad in Custody After Missing Infant Girl Found Safe Following New Jersey AMBER Alert

Chinna Payne AMBER Alert

An endangered infant girl who was missing and prompted an AMBER Alert in New Jersey was safely located and her father is now in custody, according to the New Jersey State Police.

Authorities were searching for weeks-old Chinna Payne after she was last seen in East Orange, and who they said may have been with Damion Payne, a 27-year-old man described by authorities as a suspect in the disappearance who was allegedly driving a 2016 white Nissan Altima with Virginia plates.

Although authorities warned that he was armed with a handgun, the child was eventually safely located and her dad was taken into custody within the hour of sending the AMBER Alert.

According to Connie Jackson, Public Information Officer of the City of East Orange, the baby was deemed healthy by EMS and was returned to her mother.

The child's father now faces charges of robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. It is unclear if Damion Payne retained an attorney.

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