Crime & Courts

Missing Concord boys found in Missouri; father arrested, police say

Police arrested the father of two missing Concord boys after finding them in Missouri on Monday morning, according to the Concord Police Department.

Shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday, the missing brothers, ages 8 and 11, were reportedly taken from a yard on near their grandmother’s apartment along Wilshire Avenue.

Police found them with their father, Aaron Eugene Toliver, at a Super 8 hotel near the intersection of Interstate 29 U.S. Hwy 136 in Rock Port, Missouri, at 8:35 a.m. Monday. Toliver is being charged with felony abduction by a parent.

Police initially called it a possible kidnapping and believed he could have been en route to Texas or Florida, where he has family. The United States Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office were all involved in the hunt for Toliver and his sons.

Missouri Child Protective Services was caring for the boys — 8-year-old Josiah Brooks and 11-year-old Aaron Toliver — while arranging efforts to reunite them with their grandmother, who cares for them Concord.

This story was originally published April 2, 2023 at 9:45 AM.

Julia Coin
The Charlotte Observer
Julia Coin covers courts, legal issues, police and public safety around Charlotte and is part of the Pulitzer-finalist team that covered Tropical Storm Helene in North Carolina. As the Observer’s breaking news reporter, she unveiled how fentanyl infiltrated local schools. Michigan-born and Florida-raised, she studied journalism at the University of Florida, where she covered statewide legislation, sexual assault on campus and Hurricane Ian in her hometown of Sanibel Island. Support my work with a digital subscription
Ames Alexander
The Charlotte Observer
Ames Alexander was an Observer investigative reporter for more than 31 years, examining corruption in state prisons, the mistreatment of injured poultry workers and many other subjects. His journalism won dozens of state and national awards. He was a key member of two reporting teams that were named Pulitzer finalists.  Support my work with a digital subscription
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER