GBI Arrests Valdosta Woman in Lanier County Child Abduction Investigation

Lakeland, GA (June 25, 2024) – The GBI has arrested and charged Monika Yvette Bradley, age 41, of Valdosta, GA with 3 counts of kidnapping. At the request of the Lanier County Sheriff’s Office, the GBI is investigating the abduction of three children in Lanier County, Georgia.

On Saturday, June 22, 2024, at about 4:00 p.m., Lanier County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a stolen car. The woman who reported the stolen car later reported that her three children, including 6-month-old A’Marile Johnson, were also missing along with the car since the previous night. She believed Bradley was the person who had taken them. At about 7:30 p.m., the Lanier County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the GBI.

Soon after, the Lanier County Sheriff’s Office responded to an address in Valdosta, Georgia after they received a call from the Valdosta Police Department that they believed they found two of the children. Two of the children were found at the location, but investigators determined at this time that Bradley still had A’Marile in her custody. The GBI initiated a Levi’s Call (Georgia’s AMBER ALERT) for A’Marile.

At about 12:00 a.m., Bradley’s vehicle was found at a motel in Valdosta, Georgia. A’Marile was located at the motel with Bradley.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation would also like to thank the Lanier County Sheriff’s Office, the Lakeland Police Department, the Valdosta Police Department, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Community Supervision, the Department of Family and Children Services, and the Atlanta Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Lanier County Sheriff’s Office at (229) 482-3545 or the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Douglas at (912) 389-4103. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be given to the Alapaha Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution.