CLEVELAND — Shyann Delmar is still in shock after leading the way for police to help catch 24-year-old Nalah Jackson, the woman who is accused of stealing a car with twin babies inside of the vehicle.
"It's really unbelievable right now," she said. "Like to me is still unbelievable."
According to authorities, the babies were taken by Jackson Dec. 19 night in Columbus. Columbus Police were joined in the search by the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the FBI. Police say Nalah Jackson was inside a restaurant when the mother walked in but left a few moments later. She then got in the mother's car and drove off with the twins still in the vehicle. The first twin was located the next morning at Dayton International Airport. However, Jackson and the second twin were still missing.
RELATED: Twin baby found safe in Indianapolis, woman who took her charged
On Dec. 20, an Amber Alert was issued for Indianapolis. Jackson was arrested two days later, with the second twin found hours after the woman was taken into custody.
On Dec. 22, Delmar bought toys from a woman named "Mae" and gave her a ride to the Dollar Store. But after leaving the store, Delmar said something didn't sit right.
"My conversation that I had with her in the car when I gave her their ride, it was so many red flags I ignored," said Delmar.
Delmar did some research and noticed similarities between the woman she had met and the suspect at-large, Jackson.
Immediately, Delmar and her cousin, Mecka Curry, came up with a plan to try and catch the kidnapper.
The pair contacted "Mae" to buy more toys, which she sent them an address for. After Delmar and Curry arrived, Mae got into the car. In that moment, they knew is was Jackson, but when police got involved, things became tricky.
"I showed him everything and me made me say from out the car why he went back and questioned her," Delmar recalled. "And he came back about five minutes later. He tells me, 'That's not her.'"
Delmar and Curry then pulled up photos and begged the officers to take a second look.
"She [the officer] walked back over to the car and looked at the woman again," said Delmar. "And just like that, they were pulling her out."
However, the missing twin baby was still yet to be found. Items left in the back seat of Delmar's vehicle were clues.
"So I found that bus schedule in my back seat and we used that map to try and figure out where the car could be at," she said.
Their search paused when they stopped to get food near a Papa John's that Jackson had mentioned. Right then, the missing car was spotted.
"She said the baby was in there and she said she smelled like foul smell, you know, from him sitting so many days," said Delmar.
It was the missing twin boy in the car, Kason Thomas.
"By the time I was coming back over from the Blaze pizza, Mecka was inside of Papa John's holding the baby, and he was well enough alive and breathing," said Delmar.
Delmar had the opportunity to call the baby's mother and deliver the news, but says she is still in shock.
"It was a huge relief. I didn't think that I would be a part of anything like this ever in my life," she said.
The grandmother of the twins told News 5 they are forever thankful for the work of Delmar and Curry.
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