FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Fort Lauderdale police confirmed two missing, endangered children were found safety Thursday after initially asking for the public’s help in locating them.
Before they were found, police said 5-year-old Leonidis Stevenson and 7-year-old Xena Stevenson had last been seen along the 1600 block of Southwest 22nd Avenue on Thursday at approximately 11 a.m.
Authorities said they were believed to be with their father, Bradley Stevenson.
Police said they initially responded to the area in reference to a person who had barricaded themselves inside a home, and after SWAT officers were called out and entered the residence, they discovered no one was there and that the children were missing.
Family members told Local 10 News’ Samiar Nefzi that this all stemmed from a heated custody battle.
“He decided that he wasn’t going to give them over and it just escalated from there,” said Kendall Stevenson, the older sister of the siblings. “He ended up escaping out the back and nobody caught him.”
Police have not said whether Stevenson was arrested or exactly how the reunification process unfolded.
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