COLUMBIA, MO — Columbia police say a missing 9-month-old boy has been found safe after an evening search that prompted a public safety alert, and a 32-year-old woman has been arrested on a child neglect charge. Officers were called Saturday evening to a report of a missing child at risk from the 700 block of Claudell Lane.

Police identified the child as Zayden Scruggs. The Columbia Police Department said the boy was later returned to the home by someone known to him and was safe and unharmed. Police also said the investigation is continuing as they look at how the child disappeared and who may have taken him away from the residence.

How police say the child disappeared from Claudell Lane home

According to Columbia police, the child’s grandmother told investigators that Zayden had been at the home with his mother when she left. When the grandmother came back around 6 p.m., the boy was gone. In an earlier social media post, police said he had last been seen around 3 p.m.

That timeline became the focus of the initial search. Officers said the call came in at 6:18 p.m., and the case was treated as a missing child at risk. Police have not said publicly who first noticed the child missing beyond the grandmother’s account, but they quickly began checking information and trying to determine whether someone had removed the baby from the home.

Public safety alert and wireless emergency warning were used

As the search continued, police said they issued a public safety alert at 8:03 p.m. after investigators believed someone may have found the baby alone and taken him away for his safety. The department also used a missing endangered person advisory, a wireless emergency alert and social media posts to spread the word.

Police later said the child had been returned by a person known to him. Columbia police spokesperson Colin Imhoff told KOMU 8 at 8:14 p.m. that the child had been found. The department said the response tools it used were appropriate for the situation, since the case did not qualify for an Amber Alert under Missouri criteria.

Why Missouri Amber Alert criteria were not met in this case

Police said the information officers had did not meet Missouri’s requirements for an Amber Alert. Instead, the department turned to other alert systems meant to notify the public quickly in a missing child investigation. Columbia police said those options can be used when a case does not rise to the level required for an Amber Alert.

The department did not provide a detailed explanation of the criteria in its public statements, but it emphasized that it used multiple channels to reach residents once the child was reported missing. That included the endangered person advisory, a wireless emergency alert and social media outreach, all of which were aimed at helping officers locate the boy as quickly as possible.

Woman arrested as investigators continue child neglect case

Police said they arrested Lillian Scruggs, 32, on a charge of abuse or neglect of a child. Officials did not immediately provide additional details about her relationship to the child beyond the information already given in the case summary, but the arrest was tied to the same incident that led to the missing child search.

The department said the investigation remains ongoing. That means officers are still working to determine exactly what happened in the home, how the child ended up missing and whether any other people were involved. No further charges were announced in the initial update from police.

What investigators have said so far about the boy's safety

Police said the child was returned safe and unharmed after the alert went out. That was the central concern throughout the evening, as officers and the public tried to locate the baby before any harm could come to him. The department’s update suggests the child was found relatively quickly after the wider public notice was issued.

Still, investigators have not said where the baby was taken or where he was found before being returned. The case also leaves unanswered whether the person who returned him had been the one who first took him away, or whether that person simply brought him back after learning he was missing. Columbia police have not released those details.

What the Saturday night response shows about missing child calls

The case highlights how Columbia police handle child disappearance reports when the facts do not meet Amber Alert standards. In this instance, officers moved from the initial missing-child call to a broader public warning within a little more than an hour and a half, using several notification systems to widen the search.

For families and neighbors, the outcome was a relieved one: the boy was recovered safely the same evening. But the arrest and the continuing investigation indicate police still view the circumstances as serious. The department’s next steps are likely to focus on the child neglect allegation and the events that led to the baby being missing in the first place.