By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Alicia Denise Brown, who has been wanted by Baltimore County Police on warrants related to the disappearance of her 10-year-old daughter Ailea Brown, was apprehended by Georgia authorities on July 6. The Hart County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that deputies conducted a felony traffic stop in response to a be-on-the-lookout alert for a vehicle traveling north on Interstate 85.
The driver was later identified as Brown and taken into custody without incident, according to the Hart County Sheriff’s Office.
“Authorities confirmed Brown was wanted by the Baltimore County Police Department on warrants stemming from the disappearance of a 10-year-old child who was reported missing in 2019,” wrote the Hart County Sheriff’s Office in a July 7 Facebook post. “Brown was also wanted by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on felony charges of interference with child custody. Both jurisdictions confirmed the warrants were valid, and Maryland authorities advised they would extradite.”
According to the Hart County Sheriff’s Office, two young children were safely recovered from the vehicle during Alicia Brown’s apprehension. While police did not identify either of the children as Ailea Brown—who would be 17 today—her father, Durrell Williams, said she remained missing on a July 7 episode of the WHUR-FM’s “The Nina Brown and Joe Clair Show.”
Williams told the radio show hosts that he was still confident that Ailea Brown is alive.
“She’s alive. She’s definitely alive, I can confirm that. I’ve always known that. I’ve always known pretty much what was going on,” Williams told the hosts. “To be honest with you, I hate that it had to be who they have in custody because that’s still her mom, and all of this was for nothing.”
Ailea Brown went missing from Reisterstown, Md. on May 25, 2019, according to the Baltimore County Police Department. Police confirmed that a white SUV was seen in the area around the time she disappeared. Weeks later, the department reported that it had no reason to believe it was a stranger abduction.
Her disappearance came on the heels of a lengthy custody battle between Williams and Alicia Brown, which ended with Williams being granted full custody of Ailea Brown. Alicia Brown quickly emerged as a central suspect.
On “The Nina Brown and Joe Clair Show,” Williams thanked supporters who have continued to keep his daughter’s disappearance in the public eye over the last seven years before sharing a personal message for her.
“I hope you understand that no matter who this was, they would have treated this the same way. You do not just take another child from another parent and go about it like it’s OK,” Williams said on the show. “This is not OK. This is against the law. In time, I hope you can understand that this is the truth, and I still miss you. I can’t wait to see you.”
In May, Alicia Brown made headlines for a separate incident involving her estranged husband Darian Morgan, also known as Atlanta radio personality “Big Tigger.” Alicia Brown claimed that Morgan pushed her into a door during an argument, causing her to sustain a facial injury. The couple’s teenaged son was reportedly in the home at the time.
Morgan was arrested June 20 on charges of aggravated battery, battery and third degree cruelty to children. A judge granted Alicia Brown a temporary protective order against him. Morgan has denied the allegations, but as video of the two in an altercation became public, he announced July 5 he was stepping away from “The Big Tigger Morning Show” on V-103.
