Charlotte County deputies say multiple requests for Amber Alert "denied" by state police

It took just 12 hours from the time an Amber Alert was issued for Annabelle Richardson Monday until she was safely located in New Jersey.

"It's a great way to get our children back," Major Donald Lacks said of the Amber Alert system in an interview with WDBJ7 Tuesday.

Lacks told reporter Tim Saunders that he wanted to issue an Amber Alert for Richardson sooner. No one had seen the 4-year-old girl since last Wednesday, when she was spotted with her father Dylan Richardson in the parking lot of a social services building in Charlotte Court House.

Between Wednesday and Monday, Lacks said the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office asked Virginia State Police to issue an Amber Alert multiple times. A duty sergeant said the case did not meet the criteria for an alert, according to Lacks.

Everything changed Monday when the sheriff's office learned Dylan Richardson was carrying a weapon.

"When it hit the news, it went everywhere," Lacks said.

Dylan Richardson was located in New Jersey Tuesday morning and taken into police custody. His mother Jacqueline McKenna was also arrested. She was the one who drove the family across state lines, according to Lacks.

Lacks said Tuesday that the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office has had ongoing issues with Richardson. A judge recently filed a protective order to prevent him from seeing his daughter until he was free of drugs and alcohol.

"It's been ongoing for too long," said Lacks.

Deputies are in the process of bringing Richardson and McKenna back here to Charlotte County, where they'll face felony abduction charges.

Annabelle Richardson won't be going back to her family right away. She's in social services custody and deputies say she'll likely stay there, at least for now, for her own protection.