A mother has been charged in connection with an Amber Alert for a 10-month-old baby who was believed to have been in “extreme danger,” state police in Virginia said Wednesday.

The police issued the alert for the baby, Cedar Samuel Griffith, on Tuesday after a child abduction allegedly occurred on Monday at about 8:10 p.m. ET. The alert asked people to be on the watch for a 30-year-old woman named Ashley Jordan Griffith, who police said was the woman “believed” to have abducted the baby.

On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office in Madison County, Kentucky, said Ashley Griffith was arrested following a motorist assistance stop at about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office told Newsweek that Griffith is the child’s mother.

More information about the arrest, including why Griffith allegedly took the child, remained unknown as of Wednesday afternoon.

“Deputy Shane Johnson made contact with the female driver with a small child passenger. The driver identified as Ashley Griffith stated she needed a jump start for her vehicle,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a post to Facebook.

Police discovered the Virginia Amber Alert after further investigation of the vehicle and proceeded to arrest her on charges of resisting arrest and being a fugitive from another state. She was being held in the Madison County Detention Center, and the baby was taken into custody by the sheriff’s deputies, according to the post.

Meanwhile, the Virginia State Police updated its alert to say that “both missing individuals have been safely located.”

Before Griffith’s arrest, the child was last seen on Daniel Boone Road in Gate City, Virginia, which is just north of the border with Tennessee. The two were ultimately located at the 5800 block of Battlefield Memorial Highway in Berea, Kentucky, more than 160 miles away from Gate City.

Madison County is in central Kentucky and contains Richmond and the southern suburbs of Lexington.

The Amber Alert was first issued just after 3 p.m. on Tuesday. “The child is believed to be in extreme danger and was last seen on Daniel Boone Road in Gate City, VA,” it said.

Amber Alerts began in 1996 following the abduction and death of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas.

Once law enforcement determines a child has been abducted and that the abduction meets the Amber Alert criteria, police notify broadcasters and state transportation officials about the abduction, according to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs.

The program has been credited with helping the recovery of 1,200 children, according to the DOJ. In 2022, 227 Amber Alerts were issued across the United States.

Staff Reports

First place

Third place

After a dry first six weeks of the offseason, the dam on the transfer portal burst and the outlook for the 2024-2025 Virginia men’s basketball season changed instantly and drastically as the Cavaliers landed four transfer commitments in a four-day span, the last of which was an extra treat as Vanderbilt forward Carter Lang committed to UVA on Tuesday, reportedly as a walk-on.

With the dust settling on a whirlwind recruiting spree for Tony Bennett and the Virginia coaching staff, let’s reset the deck and take a look at UVA’s scholarship chart and projected roster breakdown for next season.

First, let’s summarize Virginia’s various roster changes so far this offseason:

Departures:
1 Dante Harris (RS Jr.) – transfer portal
2 Reece Beekman (Sr.) – NBA Draft
22 Jordan Minor (Gr.) – exhausted eligibility
34 Jake Groves (Gr.) – exhausted eligibility
35 Leon Bond III (RS Fr.) – transfer portal

Expected returners:
0 Blake Buchanan (So.)
4 Andrew Rohde (Jr.)
10 Taine Murray (Sr.)
11 Isaac McKneely (Jr.)
12 Elijah Gertrude (So.)
21 Anthony Robinson (RS Fr.)
30 Christian Bliss (RS Fr.)

Current additions:
G Jalen Warley (Florida State transfer, one year remaining)
F TJ Power (Duke transfer, three years remaining)
F Elijah Saunders (San Diego State transfer, two years remaining)
F Carter Lang (Vanderbilt transfer, three years remaining) ** walk-on
G Ishan Sharma (incoming freshman)
F Jacob Cofie (incoming freshman)

Here’s Virginia’s current scholarship roster for the 2024-2025 season sorted by position and including details on each player’s eligibility remaining:

PG: Jalen Warley (1 year), Christian Bliss (4 years)
SG: Isaac McKneely (2 years), Elijah Gertrude (3 years), Ishan Sharma (4 years)
SF: Andrew Rohde (2 years), Taine Murray (1 year)
PF: TJ Power (3 years), Elijah Saunders (2 years), Jacob Cofie (4 years)
C: Blake Buchanan (3 years), Anthony Robinson (4 years)

Scholarship spots used: 12/13
Open scholarship spots: 1

The most important effect of the transfer additions is the status of UVA’s power forward position. With Ryan Dunn declaring for the NBA Draft and Jake Groves graduating, the Cavaliers were left with only incoming freshman Jacob Cofie at that spot. Now, Virginia should head into next season feeling quite confident at the 4 with the additions of TJ Power, a former five-star recruit with extremely high upside on the offensive end, and Elijah Saunders, who could also see time at center in a similar capacity as Jordan Minor due to his stature at 6’8″, 240 pounds.

Carter Lang could end up being an underrated pickup as well, as the 6’9″, 235-pound forward and Charlottesville native appeared in 24 games and made seven starts as a true freshman last season at Vanderbilt.

Jalen Warley provides experience (96 career games) and size (6’7″) to UVA’s group of guards and could spend time running point for the Cavaliers, as he had a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio last season for Florida State.

As for what will happen with Virginia’s final open scholarship spot, keep an eye on Kansas State transfer guard Dai Dai Ames, who took an official visit to UVA on Monday. The 6’1″ freshman started 16 of 31 games last season for the Wildcats, averaging 5.2 points and 2.0 assists per game and shot 32.9% from beyond the arc. Ames started the last 13 games of the season and scored in double figures in three of the last five, ending the year by scoring a season-high 16 points and hitting four threes against Iowa in the NIT.

If Virginia doesn’t get a commitment from Ames or another player for the 2024-2025 season, that final scholarship could end up going to Carter Lang.

More Virginia Men’s Basketball News and Content

Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker
Virginia Basketball Adds Vanderbilt Transfer Forward Carter Lang

San Diego State Transfer Elijah Saunders Commits to Virginia Basketball
Duke Forward TJ Power Transfers to Virginia Basketball
Report: Virginia Hosting Kansas State Guard Transfer Dai Dai Ames
Former Virginia Wing Leon Bond III Transfers to Northern Iowa
Virginia Basketball Lands First Transfer Commitment From FSU Guard Jalen Warley