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1:33 a.m. • 2-11-12

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Investigators find Hoke County sitter who left with child


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Saniya Purcell
Saniya Purcell

A Raeford teen who ran away from home last week with an infant she was babysitting was found safe with the baby in Opp, Ala., Thursday evening, according to the Hoke County Sheriff's Office.

Renesha Shante Griner, 17, took 9-month-old Saniya Jaynelle Purcell out of state Saturday without permission, Sheriff Hubert Peterkin said.

Investigators found Griner and Saniya, both of whom were unharmed, Peterkin said.

Griner had convinced her 20-year-old ex-boyfriend that the infant was his baby, Peterkin said. Saniya had been taken in by the ex-boyfriend’s family, and it appeared that Griner had no intentions of returning to Raeford, investigators said.

Investigators in Opp got a tip that Griner was trying “to orchestrate something with her ex-boyfriend" and went to the man's house. Griner was at the ex-boyfriend’s house when police stopped by, but Saniya was with the man's mother, Peterkin said.

His family had already started making preparations for the baby, according to investigators.

Griner was in the custody of the Opp Police Department Thursday evening and was expected to be extradited to Hoke County soon. Peterkin said he was making travel arrangements for the child to be returned to her mother in Raeford.

Griner will be charged with first-degree kidnapping, Peterkin said.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and law officers in Georgia and Alabama assisted in the search. An Amber Alert was not issued in the case because Purcell was not believed to be in danger, investigators said.

RELATED TOPICS: Raeford, Hoke County

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Why should a twenty year old have a child in the first place?! ambidextrous cat

Um....I hope you are being sarcastic? I teach high school and just this semester (since January), I have had three pregnant girls in my classes. Last semester, I had one! Teaching 4 pregnant girls in one year (all 17 years old or younger) is outrageous! 3 had their babies and 1 has a miscarriage! The point is that maybe you think a 20 year old shouldn't have a baby but plenty of them and younger do! It doesn't make it right, but until parents start doing their jobs, this will continue...Apparently, sex is not a big deal...

this is just messed up ! my heart goes out to the mom,hope Social services keeps a close eye on the baby.The mom needs all the resources and help she can get.Glad the baby was not harmed.

"Why should a twenty year old have a child in the first place?!"- When a man and woman love each other very much...

The cruelty of this 17 yr old disgusts me. She had a family believing they were welcoming a new baby to the family, while tearing out a mothers heart at this end not knowing how or where her baby was. She sounds like the women on the news who literally cut babies out of new mothers and steal them, scary girl. She needs locked up and NOW.

wowee. im just floored. this girl has got some nerve, eh? nice way to ruin her life. i hope they throw the book at her. kudos to the ex boyfriend and his family tho, for being standup folks in the situation, offering to take her and the baby in. i cant imagine how they all must feel after finding out the truth. wow...

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