Officers search a wooded area in Richland County for clues in the disappearance of Amir Jennings.
Amir Jennings
Columbia, SC (WLTX) - Columbia police have called off their search of a wooded area in Northwest Richland County for missing Columbia toddler Amir Jennings, just hours after they began their probe.
Jennings hasn't been seen since around Thanksgiving, according to police and his family.
Officers were conducting their search Thursday an an 8-mile radius area near a church off Heyward Brockington Road. That region is north of Interstate 20 in Richland County between Fairfield Road and Monticello Road.
A command post was set up as police conduct their search, and officers were assisted by the State Law Enforcement Division, the FBI, and the Columbia-Richland Fire Department. In all, more than 100 officers were at the scene.
News19's Clark Fouraker reports that K-9 officers and cadaver dogs were part of their search.
Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott says a "credible tip" led his officers to this location.
For weeks, Scott has expressed concern for what has happened to the child. While Amir's grandmother and other family members have pleaded for help from the community, the one person who has been silent, according to officers, has been his mother, Zinah Jennings.
Initially, she was reported missing as well, but she resurfaced on Christmas Eve when she was involved in a minor car accident in Columbia. Since then, she's given little clarity as to the fate of her son, and has been in jail ever since.
Earlier in the day, Zinah Jennings's attorney, Hemphill Price II, said that his client was pregnant and needed to be released from jail to have prenatal care.