PANAMA CITY — The father who took his child from his mother and took off for several days turned himself into the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday night. The child was not harmed.
Jay Cale Weeks, 34, of Lynn Haven, was arrested for interfering with custody, aggravated battery on a pregnant woman and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage. He was booked into the Bay County Jail and released on a preset bond.
Lynn Haven Police and BCSO deputies had been hunting for Weeks and his girlfriend, Lafarrah Michelle Strahler, since Saturday, when he allegedly went to the child’s mother’s home, hit her car with his, hit her with his hand and left the scene with their son before police arrived.
Weeks was upset because the child’s mother had plans to leave the area with their son, and because the couple was never married she is legally considered the child’s sole custodian, said Sgt. Tom Willoughby with the Lynn Haven Police Department.
“We had no indication at any time did he have any intent to harm the child,” Willoughby said. “He just didn’t want her to leave the jurisdiction of this court.”
Willoughby also credited the Department of Children and Families for its assistance in the investigation.
Though she is expected to turn herself in soon as well, police and deputies continue to search for Strahler. Strahler is attempting to have a preset bond ordered in her case as well, said BCSO spokeswoman Ruth Corley.
“She is expected to turn herself in at some point,” Corley said.