4 missing Alabama brothers found safe in Morganton, police say

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Police in Alabama said authorities in Morganton have found four young brothers who had been missing since Dec. 8.

The boys’ non-custodial parents, 29-year-old Karissa Renee Cummings and 39-year-old Marcus Eugene Simmons, turned themselves in to Morganton police on Monday night, according to WAFF.

Police in Arab, Alabama, were waiting for the parents to sign extradition paperwork and officials said the boys were not hurt.

Investigators told Channel 9 that the boys were staying at a home in Burke County.

Arab police and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency had been looking for the boys since Dec. 8. Police said 1-year-old Corbin Simmons, 4-year-old Alexander Simmons, 5-year-old Nicolas Simmons and 11-year-old Ian Simmons were taken from their grandmother’s home on Cobb Road without permission by their father.

The children had been placed with their grandmother as part of a DHR safety plan. According to Blount County DHR officials, the boys were to remain there until a temporary custody plan could be organized.

Arab Assistant Police Chief Shane Washburn said the grandmother went to bed at midnight and found the children missing when she woke up at 7 a.m. on Dec. 8.

Karissa Cummings is the mother of three of the four boys and Marcus Simmons is the father of all four boys.

Both are being held on a $200,000 bond and will have an extradition hearing Wednesday.