Toddler found safe after Amber Alert, police chase

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A high speed chase was prompted by an Amber Alert Tuesday on Detroit's west side.

It began at 2:30 a.m. when police say 42-year-old Grady Barrett broke into a Karl Street home and kidnapped his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter with a machete.

Her mother, Gloria Camper, was on the phone with her aunt who was babysitting the child, when Gloria heard her daughter Sondra Renee Camper being abducted.

RELATED: AMBER Alert suspect in custody, 2-year-old girl found safe after miles-long chase

"All I hear is you can't come in here like that, put the knife down - put her down and I'm like what is happening," Gloria said. "And she got back on the phone and said - he took her and I just lost it."

Gloria was in the hospital after being assaulted by Grady Barrett Monday night - the same man who now had her daughter and he was on the run.

"Crews were looking for the vehicle, they end up finding him on northbound I-75 just north of the Ohio border," said Deputy Chief David LeValley, Detroit police.

Garrett refused to stop for police and the chase was on for nearly an hour through several counties until it all ended in front of a senior housing unit on Meyer at Seven Mile with Barrett flipping a parked car in a violent crash. Police performed a pit maneuver after they say he tried to ram them.

The suspect and a female acquaintance were taken into custody and the machete was visible on the dashboard - but Sondra Renee was safe.

"She appears to be unharmed," LeValley said. "We sent her to the hospital by EMS just to be checked out to make sure she's alright."

"He put her in a situation where you're driving 100 miles per hour, hitting cars - she could have flown out the window," said the child's aunt. "But I'm just thankful my niece is okay."

Loved ones say the child is undergoing X-rays and other testing. As for Grady Barrett , relatives admit he has a violent past serving time for assault with a dangerous weapon in 1995. He is also a probation absconder - but they are coming to his defense..

"I know the baby's fine, the baby looks at my brother as a father he would never do anything to harm the child," said Tina Parker, the suspect's sister.

Whatever his intent, the consequences are very serious. Fortunately for everyone, this little girl will be okay.

"I can't learn a lesson like this to have my baby girl taken away from me," Gloria said. "He took something that started off small and took it too far. He should be severely punished."

Because Barrett crossed state lines, he could be facing federal charges, while the child will be spending the night in the hospital.