A 6-year-old Crofton boy missing more than a week was abducted by his father, Anne Arundel County police said Tuesday.
David Jackson, 46, of Crofton, was supposed to pick up Colin from school Aug. 27 and take him to his house for a visitation.
But mother Cheryl Jackson, who has custody of Colin, found her ex-husband?s house vacated when she arrived the next day to pick up Colin, police said.
Jackson has been unable to reach her ex-husband for a week.
She reported her son missing Monday to Anne Arundel police, who believe David Jackson may be taking Colin to Tennessee.
“It?s been an ongoing custodial dispute,” said Sgt. Sara Schriver, Anne Arundel police spokeswoman.
“The court granted mom full custody, and he did not have the authority to take the child away full-time, especially out of state.”
Tennessee police had not received notification of the abduction by Monday afternoon, Tennessee Department of Safety spokeswoman Laura McPherson said.
In Maryland, kidnapping a child under the age of 16 is considered a felony carrying a 30-year penalty or 20 years if the child is older than 16.
But kidnapping by a noncustodial parent or relative is a misdemeanor carrying a 30-day maximum penalty, unless the child is taken out of state for more than 30 days, which carries a one-year maximum, said Kristin Riggin, Anne Arundel County State?s Attorney?s Office spokeswoman.
Howard County police have not seen such a case in years, said Sherry Llewellyn, Howard police spokeswoman.
In December, Howard police arrested Olympic gold medalist Myriam Bedard at a Columbia hotel on charges of abducting her 12-year-old daughter.
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