A 1-year-old Florida girl who had been missing for more than a month has been found safe, authorities confirmed.
Anastasia Mason was reported missing on Dec. 2 after she was last seen in Pensacola with her parents, Thomas Zachariah Mason and Jami Makala Owens, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
In an update released Thursday, Jan. 15, investigators announced that Anastasia was safely located in Uriah, Alabama, several hundred miles from where she was last seen. Officials did not release details about how she was found or who she was with at the time.
Following the child’s recovery, Owens, 30, was taken into custody. Authorities have not yet disclosed the specific charges she faces, though law enforcement records indicate she previously had outstanding warrants related to child abuse and petty theft. It remains unclear whether Mason, 36, was also arrested or charged. As of Jan. 17, neither parent appeared in county inmate records, and it is not known whether they have legal representation.
The case began in early December when deputies responded to a hotel after receiving a call about a woman who appeared to be suffering from a possible overdose. That woman was later identified as Owens. Officers said she was acting erratically in the lobby and was unable to account for her daughter’s whereabouts.
Anastasia was later located inside a hotel room with an adult male, where officers also reported finding narcotics. Owens was transported to a hospital for treatment. During that time, the child disappeared.
Investigators later said they believed Mason, who shares joint custody of Anastasia with Owens, may have taken the child, though authorities could not initially confirm her location. An arrest warrant was later issued for Owens, but by the time deputies attempted to serve it, she had already been released from the hospital.
With Anastasia and both parents unaccounted for, the Department of Children and Families launched an investigation, citing concerns for the child’s safety and well-being. Law enforcement officials said at the time that their priority was locating the child so she could receive a medical assessment.
The sheriff’s office has not released further details about the circumstances leading to Anastasia’s recovery or the current status of the investigation.