COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the search continues to find 5-year-old Darnell Taylor and his legal custodian Pammy Maye, his biological family is speaking out, hoping he is returned home safe.
Anthony and Tawanda Baynes said they are the biological grandparents of Darnell and have been friends with Pammy for many years.
Anthony shared a desperate plea that he hopes reaches her.
"Pammy.... what’re you doing? This is Darnell, you love him. Please, bring him home."
Anthony said a friend called them early Wednesday morning saying there was an AMBER Alert for Darnell.
"I couldn't believe my ears,” Anthony said.
"We didn't see this coming at all,” Tawanda said.
The couple said they feel partially to blame.
"See, it's kind of our fault that Pammy got Darnell,” Anthony said.
Anthony and Tawanda said they used to take care of Darnell, but it got to be too much for them.
"Darnell's kind of rough. We couldn't handle him. I hate to say we couldn't handle him, but we didn't want him in the system,” Anthony said.
Anthony said they looked to their close friend, Pammy, who was like family to them.
Quanisha King, Darnell’s biological aunt, said she’s known Pammy since she was five years old.
"This is not like her at all, the person that I thought that I knew,” she said.
King said her family hasn’t seen Darnell since last July, not long after Pammy and her husband gained legal custody of him. The family said Pammy used to attend every birthday, cookout and holiday, but out of nowhere, she stopped answering their calls.
"We've been out there to their home, knocking on the front door, the side door, no answer,” Tawanda said.
"We thought maybe she was keeping him from us so he can be a part of their family first, but six months… that's a long time,” Anthony said.
With very few answers to their questions, their family is choosing to focus on the good, like the infectious smile they know and love.
"As you can see in the pictures, he's something else,” Anthony said.
Their love for Darnell is on full display with pictures hanging out the wall throughout their living room.
"He has a bubbly personality, always smiling, always dancing,” King said.
"We just want to see him, spend time with him, love on him,” Tawanda said.
The family continues to hope and pray for a positive outcome.
"Pammy, just bring him home, come on back wherever you're at,” Tawanda said.
As for Pammy’s husband, police said he has been fully cooperative with their investigation.