8-day-old boy missing from Chapel Hill found safe, search for parents continues

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- A baby who was the focus of an AMBER Alert on Monday night has been found safe but many questions remain.

Chapel Hill Police issued the alert about 7 p.m. and a little more than two hours later, said 8-day-old Jaxton Brown had been found in Durham and was safe.

Authorities said Jaxton, who was last seen Friday at the Red Roof Inn Chapel Hill at 5623 Fordham Blvd. in Durham, was with his parents, but they have not been found.

The car they were believed to be in, a white 1997 Mercury Mystique with temporary tags, was found in the parking lot of a Big Lots store at 3420 SW Durham Drive.

Nearby, on Witherspoon Boulevard, behind University Ford off 15/501 in Durham, ABC11 saw authorities with a baby carrier and a blanket and watched as Social Services put the items into the back of a car.

An ambulance soon drove off, but it was unclear whether Jaxton was taken to a hospital. Jaxton was handed off to a probation officer at this location, investigators told ABC11, but his parents, identified as Destinee Ariel Cothran, 26, of Garner, and Justin Lee Brown, 29. of Durham, apparently fled the scene.

ABC11 asked police what changed from Friday that caused this AMBER Alert to go out, but clearly, something happened for Chapel Hill Police to feel an alert was necessary.

ABC11 also asked why Jaxton, who was born Feb. 18, wasn't supposed to be with his parents. Investigators only said that it was a custody issue.

The search for Cothran and Brown continued into the night.

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