Missing 1-Year-Old Found Safe, Mother Arrested And To Face Child Neglect Charge

January 17, 2026

A 1-year-old girl that had been missing since December 2, was located safe on Friday in Monroe County, Alabama, while her mother was arrested to await extradition to face charges including child neglect in Florida.

Anastasia Grace Mason was last seen at the Oyo Hotel in the 6900 block of Pensacola Boulevard with her father, 36-year-old Thomas Zachariah Mason, and mother, 30-year-old Jami Makala Owens.

According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to the hotel after Owens was acting strangely in the lobby due to a possible drug overdose, and she was unable to tell deputies which room the child was in.

After a search, deputies were able to locate Anastasia in a room with an adult male and a quantity of narcotics. The father had joint custody of Anastasia at the time and took her while Owens was transported to the hospital. The sheriff’s office completed a warrant affidavit for Owens, but by the time the warrant was issued she had been released from the hospital. Deputies were then unable to locate Anastasia, Owens or Mason.

After Owens was arrested on Friday in Uriah, Alabama, she was transported to the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton where she was booked on an outstanding Escambia County, Alabama, warrant for bail jumping first-degree. She faces extradition back to Escambia County, Florida, to face the child neglect charge and charge of petty theft.

Anastasia was released to the custody of the Department of Children and Families. Mason was not charged with any crime.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under TOP STORIES