Suspicious New Details About Zaela Walker, The Las Vegas Toddler Who Has Been Missing For Three Months
Her father was just arrested.
Missingkids.org The father of 3-year-old Zaela Walker was arrested Saturday in connection with her August disappearance.
Ricky Beasley, 27, was charged with first-degree kidnapping and child abuse or neglect, as well as traffic-related charges, according to a release from the North Las Vegas Police Department on Monday.
Las Vegas Police arrested Beasley and Zaela'a mother, 27-year-old Lakeia Walker, after they received a tip that the girl's parents were at a local casino, located near Civic Center Drive and Cheyenne Avenue. Walker was released and is reportedly cooperating with police.
Authorities did not release much information about the case as it is still an active investigation, police said on Tuesday.
Zaela was reported missing by her grandmother, Carla Richardson, in August. Police officially announced the toddler is missing on Friday when she was not with her parents, who the Zaela was last seen with. An Amber Alert was not issued because there is no evidence Zaela was abducted or in danger, police said.
But Zaela is still missing and has not been seen in three months.
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Richardson is frustrated with police, who she believes could have found her grandchild if an investigation was initiated when she reported Zaela missing.
“If they would have actually done some investigating, the baby would be home by now,” she told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
But police were investigating the girl's disappearance and never stopped, said North Las Vegas Police spokesperson Eric Leavitt.
“In cases like this, where it’s not apparent what the situation is because the daughter was last seen with the parents, detectives have to figure out what’s going on,” he told the outlet. “Unfortunately that takes time. In this case, there were no immediate red flags to the detective during his initial investigation.”
The search for the missing girl continues and police are asking the public for help.
“There’s a mom right now at home and a grandmother, who don’t know where their daughter is,” Leavitt said.
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Beasley and his girlfriend went on a multi-state road trip to "rekindle their relationship," Fox 5 Vegas reported.
Court documents filed in September and release Monday said friends and family were not aware of their going away and pleaded for their return on social media. The pair drove to Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, and Mexico but Zaela was not with them, documents state. It is unclear when Zaela was separated from her parents or where she is now.
Missingkids.org
Police are hoping to find Zaela.
"Sometimes we have more questions than answers. In this case, it's dramatically in that favor," Leavitt said. “It’s not a recovery at this point, they’re still getting lead after lead. If they’re hopeful, that means there’s hope."
Zaela Walker s a black female with brown eyes. She weighs 27 pounds.
Anyone with information about Zaela’s whereabouts is urged to contact North Las Vegas police at 702-633-9111 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
Sarah Gangraw writes about all things news, entertainment and crime. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.