Laddie Hightower, 40, the owner of this blue Chevrolet Caprice with silver rims, is wanted by Stockton Police on a $50,000 warrant. (Courtesy photo)

Police looking for 5-year-old

Girl not considered 'kidnapped,' but Galt PD concerned for her safety

Galt police are looking for a 5-year-old girl who hasn't been seen since Sunday night, when her parents took her from her grandmother's home.

Jada Hightower

Jada Hightower is considered at-risk because her father allegedly assaulted and kidnapped Jada's mother the previous day in Stockton, Galt Police Lt. Ken Erickson said. The incident doesn't meet the standards for an Amber Alert — a statewide alert with victim and vehicle information — because there was no sign of an actual kidnapping, Erickson said.

But because the girl's father is wanted on a $50,000 warrant related to the incident with the mother, police want to make sure that Hightower is safe, Erickson said. The girl attends a Galt school and is regularly in class, but she has been absent this week.

The weekend's incident started early Saturday morning in the 8900 block of Valley Oak Drive in Stockton. The girl's father, Laddie Hightower, 40, allegedly assaulted her mother and forced the woman into his blue Chevrolet Caprice with distinct rims, Stockton Police Officer Pete Smith said. Stockton police have since secured a $50,000 arrest warrant for domestic violence and kidnapping.

Then on Sunday evening the girl's mother, Silvia Nino, 30, picked up her daughter from Laddie Hightower's mother's house, where he was also living, Erickson said. Laddie Hightower was with Nino at the time.

Nobody has seen the three since, though Nino had apparently been in telephone contact Tuesday with her family and her employer, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Smith said.

The two have joint custody of Jada Hightower, and both live at separate homes in Galt. Police described Laddie Hightower as Nino's ex-boyfriend, but they don't know the status of the two at this point, or where Nino was when she called family. Galt police also do not know why Nino picked up her daughter, or why Laddie Hightower was with her.

"We don't know if that was under duress. Because it's unknown what that status is, we are concerned for the welfare of the girl," Erickson said.

Jada Hightower is described as black, 3 feet tall and weighing 45 pounds. She was last seen wearing blue shorts and a pink top.

Silvia Nino is Hispanic, 5-feet, 2-inches tall, weighing 130 pounds.

Laddie Hightower, is black, age 40 and is 5-feet, 11-inches tall.

They were last seen in Laddie Hightower's blue modified 1995 Chevrolet Caprice with 22 or 24-inch chrome wheels and a personalized license plate number of LRIDESS.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Galt Police Department at 366-7000.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.