Mom’s Instincts Kick In After Meeting A Stranger, And Then She Follows Her Gut And Stops A Crime

In December 2022 a compelling true crime story of two missing babies, two determined cousins, and two different police forces unfolded. Nalah Jackson had managed to avoid detection for a little while, but it was only a matter of time before she drew attention to herself. But it wasn’t a clear cut situation. When the cops came, they were allegedly not on the ball.

In fact, it fell to Shy and her cousin Mecka Curry to do the legwork of tracking down Nalah Jackson in the first place. These detectives may have been amateurs, yet the effort they put in has been commended. Commentators wonder why they needed to step up in the first place. Couldn’t the police have handled this stuff? We’ll go into all that shortly.

The narrative of how Nalah Jackson was arrested is interesting enough in itself, but there’s more to the set-up than that. You see, once Shy and Mecka got their woman, they faced a backlash online. Accusations flew that they were in on the deal. Luckily, in this age of social media, the cousins had the option of telling their side of the story.

How did they do that? On TikTok! In an extraordinary series of posts, the headline-grabbing crime hunters set the record straight in their own way. It’s a wild ride, as the pair excitedly describe the exact sequence of events. Because the videos are made in a busy family home, there are also interruptions, many of which come from their own children!

It all has to be seen to be believed, but we’ve got the best bits here. We’re also going to fill you in on all the details. What Nalah Jackson was up to. How Shy and Mecka went from regular folk to pro-active protectors. The alleged failings on behalf of law enforcement. Everything adds up to a nail-biting tale, seemingly like no other.

Shy first encountered Nalah Jackson by chance. She was at a gas station when she saw Jackson selling toys outside. An unusual setting, perhaps, but it piqued the young mother’s interest. Needing to pick up some stuff for her kids, she went over to see what Jackson had to offer. Along the way they got to talking.

Jackson wound up asking for a lift from Shy. It was here that things became even more extraordinary. Speaking about the situation on TikTok, the cousins described how Jackson asked to be taken “to a hood… somewhere where they got some drugs at.” Shy was particularly surprised when Jackson stopped the ride to urinate.

Shy even decided to take some footage of this on her phone, because it appeared so strange. After Jackson was dropped off, Shy carried on with her day. Little did she suspect that she would be meeting Jackson again. This time, it would be much more involved, and lead to a stressful and eye-opening sequence of events.

Appropriately enough, the story progressed via another social media platform, Facebook. Shy was scrolling through the typical mix of updates, ads, and random videos when she saw a face she recognized. It was a police mugshot, and staring back at Shy was one Nalah Jackson. As Shy puts it on TikTok, she thought, “Damn, she looks familiar...”

At this point she reached out to Mecka, hoping her cousin would help her confirm her suspicions. And before long, Shy and Mecka were launching a bold and risky plan to catch Nalah Jackson. What was Jackson accused of? What spurred Shy and Mecka to take such drastic action to try and apprehend her? Well, first things first, here’s why Jackson’s face was so familiar.

On December 19, 2022, the mother of infant twins Kason and Ky’air Thomas stopped outside a pizza joint in the city of Columbus. It was coming up to 10 p.m. and she reportedly planned on popping in, grabbing some food, then leaving. She drove a Honda Accord, and figured it’d be alright to pull up and leave the engine running.

Unfortunately, this lady traveled with Kason and Ky’air, and decided to leave them in the car. In the intervening time, someone had managed to jump in the Honda and drive off. We can only imagine how horrific it must have been for the mother when she came out to find the vehicle missing. The suspect in the theft was Nalah Jackson.

Thankfully, there was some very good news. The family only had to wait a relatively short 24 hours — though we’re sure it was agonizing — before Ky’air was located at a parking lot at Dayton International Airport, Ohio. Covered in blankets and sitting in an abandoned car seat, the baby was clearly distressed. But at least one infant was safe.

That said, any relief the mother felt was surely tempered by the fact that Kason remained missing. Authorities had managed to trace Ky’air swiftly enough, but when it came to his brother, things were about to get a lot more complicated. It would fall to Shy Delmar and Mecka Curry to fill in the blanks.

On TikTok, Mecka maybe half-seriously referred to herself and her cousin as “top of the line detectives.” But they didn’t want to go in all guns blazing. As mothers, they instinctively wanted to see Jackson behind bars. They weren’t, however, prepared to tackle the suspect until they were 100 percent sure they had the right person.

Even when the two cousins were on the verge of getting the suspect arrested and out the way, Shy revealed to NBC4 Columbus she was “scared,” stating she “didn’t wanna look crazy by getting this girl locked up.” Yet the evidence appeared to be mounting. The Facebook mugshot was apparently the girl Shy had given a lift to that day at the gas station.

There were further disturbing discoveries, such as an alleged online threat by Nalah Jackson against her partner. Someone with a possibly dangerous temperament was said to be behind the disappearance of little Kason and Ky’air. You can understand why Shy and Mecka felt compelled to act. But why did they end up going it alone? We’ll find out shortly.

Shy and Mecka figured they should call Jackson and try to meet up with her. Jackson swapped information with Shy, and it looked like they were on friendly enough terms for something like that to happen. Jackson had reportedly been open about taking drugs and, when they got to her place, the cousins saw what appeared to be drug-dealing activity.

On collecting Nalah Jackson, the cousins then had to take her on a shopping spree at her request. During the course of the conversation, Jackson mentioned the name Papa John’s. This would prove crucial for later, so bear it in mind. For now, Shy and Mecka needed to worry about how they were going to deliver their passenger to the authorities.

At one stage, the car was being driven in circles, as the amateur criminal catchers worked out how to handle things. They were checking the image of Nalah Jackson on their device with the individual in their car. Everything had to be nailed down, so they could be totally sure of what they were doing. They also began quizzing Jackson on the subject of children.

The TikTok story mentions Nalah Jackson’s reference to a “spiritual grandbaby.” These hair-raising words may well have alarmed Shy and Mecka. What exactly is a spiritual grandbaby when it’s at home? It was time to let the cops in on what was going down. The group went into a shop and Mecka called the local police department.

Mecka reached the line of a Columbus detective, but she didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for. Mecka explains on TikTok that the investigator was “telling me to call the FBI, he’s like, ‘There’s a reward.’” To their surprise, their red hot tip was being doused in cold water by what sounded like a less than enthusiastic law enforcer!

Mecka was in no mood to cash in, as the detective allegedly advised, adding, “It ain’t even about the reward, I’m trying to figure out how we about to get her away from me, away from us and into your custody!” Mecka reportedly had a firearm in the car, and worried that she might have to apprehend Nalah Jackson herself at this rate.

Things only got worse as time went on. Shy and Mecka were now absolutely convinced they had the right woman after all. But police weren’t exactly swooping in after they offered vital information. In fact, when they set off again, their hearts sank when they got a call from cops, who’d arrived at their previous location too late!

All the while they had to keep the nature of the calls secret from Nalah Jackson, who must have been wondering what was going on. Mecka had to explain she was talking to her fiancé, whereas, in fact, she was communicating with officers on the phone, trying to get their paths to cross before something dramatic happened.

By the time they finally got pulled over, the officers allegedly proceeded without much caution, openly asking Mecka if she’d called them. After what seemed like an eternity — though it was actually minutes — Jackson was questioned. She claimed to be a minor. There then followed another unexpected development. The cops allegedly didn’t buy that this was Jackson. That’s right, another curveball from the authorities!

The cops then suggested taking her to a homeless shelter. Speaking on TikTok, Mecka describes the police as “super strange,” saying they were “putting one and one together and making nine.” One look at the comments reveals support for the cousins and disbelief at the reaction from law enforcement. Mecka and Shy also wanted to confirm that they weren’t stealing from shops alongside Jackson.

Shy and Mecka had also attempted to contact the family of little Kason Thomas, but they didn’t get a response. One person they did manage to get hold of was Dion Green from Dayton, who’d been in the news offering a reward of $10,000 for Kason’s safe return. Green is a local activist and anti-firearm campaigner.

With Dion Green contacting the Thomas family and letting them know of Shy and Mecka’s activities, there ensued a waiting game. The waiting period proved too long for Shy and Mecka. Police were reportedly processing a search warrant, and this was obviously going to take a while. The cousins took matters into their own hands, consulting a bus schedule of Jackson’s.

The schedule enabled them to hit the road and check out everywhere she might have traveled to. They describe it as their “number one clue on TikTok. Keeping in touch with Dion Green, but not detectives who reportedly didn’t return their calls, the cousins desperately searched for anything that might give them a hint as to Kason’s location.

Here’s where Papa John’s comes into play. Driving toward the iconic fast food outlet, Shy and Mecka spotted a suspicious-looking vehicle in the parking lot. They saw a pair of baby legs through the window. Opening the door, Mecka was met by what she described as a “foul smell”. Their hearts must have been in their mouths!

Fortunately the stench was merely part of the natural business a baby does. The commotion set Kason off, with his cries confirming that he appeared to be unharmed. “God is with us,” Mecka thought, and it seems she was right. They could now inform Kason’s mother of his whereabouts. It was a deeply emotional time for everyone, as revealed on TikTok.

Mecka says the atmosphere was “so joyous,” adding that little Kason was “so cute, so handsome… I was happy to hear the mother’s cries over the phone and there was tears of joy, it was very beautiful.” The epic TikTok sequence ends with Shy hugging her own child close to her. Who knows how things would have ended up, had they not acted?

It turned out the car had been sitting in the Papa John’s parking lot for several days! Still, everything had been resolved, the Thomas family were reunited, and Shy and Mecka found themselves interviewed by the media. The spotlight brought with it some stress, hence them taking to TikTok to clarify the situation in their own words.

As reported by The Columbus Dispatch in January 2023, Nalah Jackson is facing two counts of kidnapping, among other charges. They also cover a “Welcome Home Celebration,” where the mother Wilhelmina got to thank the cousins in person. “I think someone should give them an award,” said local pastor Karen Carlisle. “Someone should let them know how appreciative we are.”