MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – UPDATE, 2/16/24 5:10 a.m.: The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) indicates two boys reported missing earlier this week have been safely returned to their mother.
MCSO says the children were returned to the sheriff’s office Thursday night by a family member, not the father. A spokesperson says the mother came to the office and got the children.
The sheriff’s office says no one will be charged in this case. “They will finish their business in civil court and the final determination of child custody made by a civil judge,” said a spokesperson.
There’s no indication where the children have been or whether anyone will be charged in this case. 352today has posed those questions to the sheriff’s office and will update this story when we get that information.
ORIGINAL, 2/12/24 10:46 a.m.: The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is asking for your help locating two children they say could have been taken to New Jersey by their father.
The sheriff’s office says Tristan Johnson, 4, and Terrance Johnson, 6, were last seen at the Harvey’s supermarket located at 3435 North Pine Ave. in Ocala. The mother told deputies that’s where she dropped them off to hand them over to their father, Terrance Johnson, 37.
MCSO says the father has cut off communication with the mother and may have taken the children to New Jersey.
There is a concern for the safety of the children due to “concerning behavior exhibited” by the father, stated the sheriff’s office in a Facebook post.
Due to the juveniles possibly being taken out of state, a court order has been filed for law enforcement to take the children and return them to their mother’s custody.
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If you have any information regarding their whereabouts, please call 911.