Madison mother reunited with her baby; suspect charged

Five-month-old Cortez L. Rose slept soundly Wednesday night after a reunion with relatives at his Madison home.

Cortez's mom, Makeela King, 15, wanted her son to get as much sleep as he needed; today the family will host a welcome back party to celebrate the baby's safe return.

The U.S. Marshal Service found Cortez on Tuesday at a residence with Danielle Medina, 17, the woman police suspect kidnapped him across state lines.

Wednesday night, Medina was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail at the Allen County Jail in Indiana. She was charged with aggravated kidnapping before her arrest.

King left her son with Medina at 1545 Fifth St. in Madison on Saturday. Medina, a friend of King's sister, was supposed to watch Cortez until his godmother picked him up.

Medina allegedly left with the infant before King came home. King then notified police Sunday when Medina did not return with the baby, and officials issued a missing-child alert.

"I'm just glad my baby's back," King said. "As soon as he saw me, he reached for me. He was staring at me, laughing, and he wouldn't take his eyes off me."

King was at the Madison Police Department on Tuesday when she learned her son had been found. She and her mom, her mom's boyfriend and Cortez's godmother, left for Indiana about 9 p.m. to pick up Cortez.

The group's vehicle ran out of gas as they got to Indiana, and they did not have enough money to fill up the tank.

Officials had given King a QuikTrip gas card to use for her trip to Indiana, but the group was unable to find a QuikTrip. When King explained to a clerk at a gas station why she was in Indiana, the clerk gave King the last $8 she had.

The Indiana Department of Child Services official who was watching Cortez gave the family $50 to pay for their trip home. The agency also returned two diaper bags that Medina had taken from King.

King said Medina took baby supplies, such as Cortez's food and clothes, as well as some of King's clothes.

"She knew what she was doing," King said. "I was going to stay with my baby until his godmother came, but (Medina) told me she would watch him."

Medina is wanted on an outstanding felony robbery and grand larceny warrant in New York, where she was previously convicted of child endangerment, Shelby said.

Details of the conviction were not immediately available Tuesday, but police said she fled the charge in New York. Medina came to the metro-east to stay with her boyfriend, Aries Moses.

Police in New York also are looking for Moses. He also is wanted for felony robbery and grand larceny and had fled the state.

Medina had been staying with Moses in East St. Louis after she came to the metro-east about two months ago. She then moved to the Madison residence Friday for the babysitting job through an acquaintance, Shelby said.