A man claiming to be the father of a baby reported missing in Jacksonville says the whole situation was blown out of proportion.
Police are searching for Antonio Bennett, 29, after officers said he took off with his daughter, 7-month-old Aroyal Bennett.
Aroyal was reunited with family Wednesday, a day after her mom called police saying Bennett never brought her home.
#BREAKING: @JSOPIO says Aroyal was dropped off at a family member’s house and is safe. Officers are still searching for her father Antonio Bennett @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/ysTeATuwsm
— Brittney Donovan (@brittneyANjax) May 30, 2018
A man claiming to be Antonio Bennett called Action News Jax after Aroyal was dropped off with family. He said he wanted to fill us in on the whole story, and asked for the conversation to be recorded.
He said he got into an argument with his child’s mother about taking Aroyal to see his other children.
Just got off the phone with Aroyal’s mom. She says she’s so happy to have her daughter back. She tells me Antonio Bennett isn’t a bad dad and has never done this before. She hopes he gets some help @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/IJypgn3Sa9
— Brittney Donovan (@brittneyANjax) May 30, 2018
The Action News Jax reporter asked: “When you found out police were searching for you and Aroyal, why didn’t you bring her back? Why didn’t you turn yourself in when they first started looking?"
He said: “The reason I didn’t turn her in, ma’am, because my whole objective was to spend time with all four of my kids.”
According to JSO, Aroyal’s mom called police Tuesday saying she got into a fight with Bennett and he took off with Aroyal, and never came home.
Aroyal was dropped off at a family member’s home Wednesday afternoon, several hours after JSO alerted the public about Aroyal’s disappearance.
Police said Bennett has active warrants for his arrest unrelated to the search for Aroyal. Officers are still searching for him.
JSO records show Bennett has been arrested in Duval County 15 times, many of them related to drugs and driving. Public records show Aroyal's mom filed an order for protection against him in late April.
Action News Jax asked the man claiming to be Bennett about the warrants and his arrest record.
“Yeah, I’ve done made some mistakes in my life and I have to account for that,” he said.
Action News Jax asked him if he is going to turn himself in and he said he is planning to but didn’t say when.
#JSO is still looking for Antonio Bennett. Officers say he has warrants out for his arrest but that they’re not related to Aroyal’s disappearance @ActionNewsJax https://t.co/SxDfCeoG2J
— Brittney Donovan (@brittneyANjax) May 30, 2018
Police are asking anyone who sees him or the white 2006 Chevy Impala he's believed to be in to call JSO.
Aroyal's mom told Action News Jax on the phone that she is happy to have her daughter back, and that Antonio Bennett had never done anything like this in the past. She said she hopes he gets the help he needs.
Cox Media Group
