Mother of missing children tied to child death

ALBANY — The mother of three missing children who was arrested outside Ocala, Fla., late Wednesday is reportedly also the mother a 2-year-old child found dead in an Albany residence earlier that day, authorities are reporting.

Clarion Garrison, 28, was taken into custody around 9 p.m. Wednesday after deputies with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office responded to a tip provided by the Albany Police Department (APD), after an Amber Alert was issued for three missing children.

The alert, which was sent out on behalf of the APD, went out at approximately 9:09 p.m. Wednesday stating that three children and their mother were believed to be travelling out of Albany in a 2003 gold KIA Optima.

When Marion County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at an Ocala home believed to belong to a relative of Garrison’s, they found 7 year-old Amyelle Garrison, 6 year-old Jaleel Garrison and 4 year-old Kamella Gibson, who had last been seen at 525 Don Cutler Sr. Drive in Albany.

All three children were reportedly safe and were taken into protective custody by the Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS).

Although reportedly not present when deputies first arrived at the scene, Clarion Garrison eventually returned to the Ocala residence and turned herself in.

According to authorities, Clarion is the mother of the three missing children and is also the mother of a 2 year-old girl, whose body was discovered at an apartment at 525 Don Cutler Drive Wednesday afternoon.

Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards said the 2- year-old’s body was found after an investigation stemming from a search warrant issued after a DFACS worker attempted to perform a home visit at the apartment.

Edwards said that the child’s body had been hidden in the apartment and that it is estimated that the child had been dead for at least two days when found.

Clarion Garrison is currently being held at the Marion County Jail and Edwards said she will be extradited to Albany at some point in the future, following charges of concealing a death.

Edwards said more charges could be presented once an autopsy was completed and more information is learned about the cause of death.

Edwards said that Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler and his team were performing the autopsy Thursday.

Edwards added that his office is still investigating whether or not there was anyone else involved in the case, that might have played some part in the child’s death or the concealment of the body.

“There may be other persons of interest,” Edwards said. “There were persons who were in and out of the household, so we want to make a full investigation. There’s no rush to judgment.”

Edwards also praised the efforts of the county’s child death investigation team, which is called when there is a death of a person under the age of 16. Edwards said that entity was a “special team of persons that work child deaths,” consisting of members of the APD, the coroner’s office, the Dougherty County Police Department, the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office, and the D.A.’s office.