Missing Siblings Found Safe
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The search is over for five siblings who walked out a Miami-Dade child services facility.
Miami-Dade police said all five brothers and sisters were found safe at 13th Street and NW 6th Avenue in Florida City on Friday. An anonymous tip led police to the kids who they said were hanging out on the corner. No word on how they got there.
Last August Takira Brown, 16, along with two sisters, 14-year Takiya and 5-year old Tamiyiah, and her two brothers, 13-year old Jeremiah and 6-year old Nehemiah, were taken from their grandmother who had custody of them following a domestic violence issue. The kids were turned over to the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
On Thursday, the kids were dropped off at Children's Home Society on Caribbean Boulevard where they were to be processed for shelter placement.
At some point the children asked to go to the restroom, and simply never came back.
Employees of the Children's Home Society realized they were gone about ten minutes after they went to the bathroom. They conducted a search of their building and the surrounding area, including the nearby Southland Mall.
After searching for about an hour, they called the police.
Miami-Dade police said the Children's Home Society staff allowed the kids to go to the bathroom unattended because they had been in the child protection system before and never ran away.
On Friday, Miami-Dade Police appealed to any relatives who might have the children to come forward. They also appealed to the oldest of the five, the 16 year-old, to call them, fearing for the safety of the 5 and 6 year olds.
Police said Takiya was wearing a denim button down shirt with blue leggings on Thursday while Tamyiah was wearing a pink T-shirt with graphics, light blue shorts and gold scandals.
Jeremiah was dressed in a white T-shirt with a graphic design and dark blue jeans while Nehemiah Brown was in black T-shirt and sweat pants with Nike yellow neon lettering and black sneakers.
