Parents, toddler go missing for 2nd time this year
DURHAM -- A public plea has generated few credible leads in the disappearance of a Durham, N.C., toddler, according to officials.
Andre Thompson Jr.'s unknown whereabouts prompted a meeting between law enforcement and Durham Social Services Monday.
The boy's safety was a concern in April. Durham police and other law enforcement agencies searched for the child after his parents were arrested in Winston-Salem.
The child's mother, Dreama Ferguson, and his father, Andre Thompson, were charged with misdemeanor child abuse. A judge returned the child to his mother's care and reduced his father's bond from $20,000 to $1,000.
The North Carolina Department of Corrections lists Thompson as an absconder. He was on probation after being convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon in March of 2013.
Andre Thompson Jr. went missing for the second time in early August after a judge granted Durham Social Services physical custody of the 22-month-old. The department says the child and his parents disappeared before it could take custody of him.
There are active arrest warrants for Ferguson and Thompson. Both are accused of felony abduction and child abuse. Authorities believe they fled with the toddler despite receiving warning about his health.
The details surrounding the child's custody are considered confidential. His parents' arrest warrants suggest there was concern for the child's medical care and nutrition.
An officer wrote in his summary that the parents failed "to comply with the child's medical treatment team referral for nutritional assistance which is crucial for the wellbeing and health of the child in light of the child's current medical state."
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the child or his parents should call the Durham Police Department at (919) 560-4600 or 911.
