According to a public information release from Sgt. Wayne Delk of the Cobb County Police Department, three children reported kidnapped from a Mableton Parkway address on Wednesday were recovered from a motel in Decatur, and four individuals have been held for questioning in the alleged kidnapping and the stabbing of the childrens’ father.

The press release describes the incident as follows:

Cobb County Police recover kidnapped children.

Cobb County Police Officers responded to a person stabbed at 6760 Mableton Pkwy Lot 2B in Mableton, Ga on Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at approximately 9 p.m. They discovered 31-year-old Danny Bernal inside his trailer suffering from several sharp force trauma injuries and  lacerations. According to Mr. Bernal, several masked men along with his ex-girlfriend had forced their way into his home, stabbed him, and kidnapped his three children.

Cobb County Police investigators from the Crimes Against Persons unit were able to track down the children to the Super 8 Motel located at 417 Church St in Decatur, Ga. Our detectives, along with our VIPER unit, responded to the hotel early in the morning of December 2, 2021; and with the assistance of the Decatur Police Department they were able to recover the children unharmed in the hotel room. Bernal’s ex-girlfriend and three adult males were taken in for questioning by detectives.

This investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call 770-499-3945.

Crimes Against Persons Unit

The Crimes Against Persons Division of the Cobb County Police Department is broken down into several specialized units, to investigate homicides, robberies, technology-based crime, domestic violence and stalking, and crimes against children. It has a unit that does crime analysis to identify evidence to help link cases and identify suspects.

The division also houses the Crime Scene Unit that according to the division’s website “is responsible for documenting and processing crime scenes to locate evidence, identify suspects, and to present evidence in criminal proceedings. Crime scene technicians are responsible for processing evidence utilizing a variety of procedures for fingerprint, DNA, and trace evidence.”