Dad arrested in California after allegedly kidnapping young son, teen niece in Tennessee

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (TCD) -- A 35-year-old Kentucky man was arrested after his 3-year-old son and the boy’s teen cousin were found safe in California following an AMBER Alert in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced Thursday that 3-year-old Noah Clare and 16-year-old Amber Clare were located in Dana Point and Jacob "Jake" Clare was taken into custody. According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Jacob Clare will remain in custody in Southern California until his extradition to Tennessee.

According to the TBI, Noah’s mother told Gallatin Police on Nov. 7 that Jacob, her ex-boyfriend, did not return Noah following a scheduled visitation. The next day, she was granted a motion to suspend Jacob’s parenting time and obtained a temporary restraining order against him.

Gallatin Police obtained a warrant for Jacob’s arrest for one count of custodial interference. The TBI put out a Tennessee Endangered Child Alert for Noah and later upgraded the alert to AMBER. Authorities also charged Jacob with especially aggravated kidnapping.

The TBI said in their statement that Jacob bought a silver Subaru Legacy on Facebook Marketplace sometime around Oct. 30. The car was seen Nov. 7 in Arizona, and it was impounded Nov. 13 in San Clemente after being found abandoned.

WKRN-TV reports the Subaru was filled with camping gear, premade meals, blankets, and clothing.

On Nov. 17, the TBI shared a screenshot from surveillance footage that shows the three of them walking and holding hands. The photo was reportedly the first time the bureau could "definitively place" Amber Clare with Jacob.

Orange County resident Julia Bonin recognized Jacob, Amber, and Clare from photos circulating social media and called the Sheriff's Department about it. Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes called Bonin a "superhero" during a press conference Thursday.

The Dothan Police Department in Alabama initially named Amber as a runaway juvenile. On Nov. 9, the department posted an alert saying she was most likely last seen at the National Peanut Festival on Nov. 7 and was "possibly with her uncle, Jacob Clare." The TBI later labeled her as an endangered child.

Amber’s mom Jamie Bravata told KMFB-TV that she found a note from Amber saying she was "going on a grand adventure." Amber reportedly lived in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, and Noah lived in Tennessee. The two locations are approximately an hour and a half away from each other.

Bravata added that she reportedly "found evidence of him grooming" Amber, which is why Bravata believes Amber went with him.

She said, "We had broke contact between Jake and Amber back in June for text messages we found that were not appropriate."

Bravata said Jacob was "not allowed around our children anymore" and he was "not welcome at our house."

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