LIVINGSTON, Tenn. – Officials said the suspect who stabbed his wife and took off with his 12-year-old stepdaughter was caught by an observant Georgia police officer who spotted the vehicle in a Tennessee AMBER Alert.
The officer saw Allen Harness' white pick-up truck in a Georgia parking lot.
The AMBER Alert was issued after Harness reportedly assaulted his wife, Christy, with a knife at an Overton County home around 12:30 a.m. Friday and left with her 12-year-old daughter.
Police safely located Cassidy Dailey in a hotel in Dalton, Georgia. Allen Harness was taken into custody. The alert was canceled about 15 hours later.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued the alert for middle and east Tennessee after Cassidy was reported mising.
Cassidy apparently wentwith Allen Harness willingly, but TBI officials said he was under court order to stay away from her and the house. DCS had also been investigating an abuse allegation against him, so law enforcement officials were very concerned.
Harness was arrested in July 2011 for child neglect.
Investigators said they had tracked a phone call from Harness' phone in Chattanooga at one point Friday.
Cassidy's mother Christie Harness suffered cuts to her hand and throat, She was treated and released from the hospital.
"I just want my daughter back. I want her back home to get the help that she needs. I love her," Christy Harness told NewsChannel 5.
Overton County Sheriff W.B. Melton said Cassidy would not be immediately returned to her mother.
"There's an investigation going on, related to the conditions of the home, and so we're going to turn her over to the Department of Children's Services," said Overton County Sheriff W.B. Melton.
There was a situation earlier this summer where Cassidy was taken out of the home, along with her five siblings because of what officials said were deplorable conditions in the couple's home.
Officials said all six of the children have been taken out of the mother's custody and put in DCS custody.
Allen Harness was charged with attempted first degree homicide.
A TDOT sign shows the AMBER Alert issued for Cassidy Dailey
Allen Harness
Ford F-350, similar to the one Harness was last seen driving
12-year-old Cassidy Dailey
