Missing infant in Sioux Falls Amber Alert found unharmed, 3 people charged

• Police in Sioux Falls, South Dakota were searching for a 1-year-old boy who was allegedly kidnapped from his grandmother's home Thursday evening.
• The Amber Alert, the first in Sioux Falls history, was issued early Friday morning after police determined the child was in imminent danger.
• Police found the baby later Friday and charged three people who are known to him.

Abducted Sioux Falls 1-year-old Javion Bluebird had been found unharmed after a nearly 11-hour Amber Alert was issued for his kidnapping, according to a press release from the Sioux Falls Police Department.

Two women have been arrested in connection to Javion's kidnapping: 17-year-old Tianna Louise Bluebird and 22-year-old Helena Havannah Bluebird, according to the press release.

Tianna Bluebird's name was released to the media as she is charged in adult court, according to the SFPD press release.

Lelana Marjorie Darlene Sitting Up, 29, also will face charges in relation to Javion's kidnapping. The woman has yet to be apprehended by police, according to the press release.

Helena Bluebird is listed as Javion's mother in an affidavit in support of the other women's arrests. Javion's biological father is reportedly in a relationship with Sitting Up, according to the affidavit.

Both biological parents previously lost custodial rights to Javion and another child, according to the affidavit.

During the investigation into Javion's abduction, detectives learned the infant may be in an apartment in the 100 block of South Summit Avenue, according to the SFPD press release.

The Sioux Falls SWAT and crisis negotiation units were dispatched to the scene since a handgun allegedly was involved in the abduction, according to the SFPD press release. The infant was found unharmed in the apartment.

Javion allegedly was abducted from his 66-year-old grandmother's apartment around 9:30 p.m. Thursday evening, according to a South Dakota Amber Alert that was issued for the infant around 2:30 a.m. Friday.

An investigation revealed Sitting Up and Tianna Bluebird allegedly entered the residence with a handgun, according to an early Friday morning press release from SFPD Sgt. Chad Westrum.

Sitting Up reportedly "waved the handgun around the apartment" and pointed it at the grandmother, according to the affidavit. The pair were allegedly seeking Javion's sibling.

Eventually, Sitting Up allegedly told Tianna Bluebird to "get the kid and the bottle," before the pair fled the scene in an early 2000s white Chevrolet Impala, according to the affidavit.

The 66-year-old woman was uninjured, SFPD spokesperson Sam Clemens said in Friday's police briefing for media.

Officers received a tip from a citizen who called Helena Bluebird after seeing the Amber Alert, according to the affidavit. The citizen reported hearing an infant crying in the background.

When police attempted to make contact with Helena Bluebird, they could only hear "rustling sounds" before the phone hung up, according to the affidavit. Officers were able to track the women's location through the citizen tip, cell phone pings and traffic cameras.

Sitting Up is charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to a Minnehaha County court document.

Tianna Bluebird is charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping, according to court documents.

Both women will be held on $100,000 bonds, according to the SFPD press release.

Helena Bluebird will be charged with abuse or cruelty to a minor, according to the SFPD press release.

Friday's Amber Alert is the first issued in Sioux Falls

After checking with the state, Clemens discovered Bluebird's case is the first "fully activated" Amber Alert in the city's history, he said.

The Amber Alert system was established in South Dakota in 2003, according to a 2012 press release from the Office of the South Dakota Attorney General.

There have been 11 Amber Alerts issued in South Dakota since then, Office of the South Dakota Attorney General Communications Director Tony Mangan told the Argus Leader in an email.

"I know that there's been some cases in the past where we've been going through the steps to issue or get an Amber Alert issued, but we were able to recover the missing child before that took place," Clemens said.

The Amber Alert was issued at 2:25 a.m. Friday. Residents on social media expressed concern that the alert was issued nearly five hours after Bluebird's alleged kidnapping, which occurred around 9:30 p.m. Thursday.

"I'll say that that's not uncommon," Clemens said. "There's some very specific criteria that must be met before an Amber Alert can be issued."

According to Amber Alert's guidelines, there must be a "reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred." Local law enforcement must also believe a child is in imminent danger before issuing an alert.

Additionally, Amber Alerts are issued by the state, at the request of local law enforcement agencies, Clemens previously told the Argus Leader. They are not issued by local agencies themselves.

Clemens said SFPD requested an Amber Alert be issued for Javion after learning "what was going on" in regards to the infants whereabouts.

This story was updated to add new information and because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.