Authorities Find Missing N.C. Children

Jan. 19, 2004 -- -- Two young children allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint from a foster home by their own parents were found safe, and the parents were in custody, authorities said.

James Lee Canter, 28, and Alisha Chambers, 18, were taken into custody today at a mobile home in Virginia's Grayson County, near the Tennessee and North Carolina borders, authorities said.

Their two children, James Paul Chambers, 2, and his sister, 11-month-old Breanna, have been recovered and are safe, according to authorities.

Authorities said Canter, who was wanted on a drug charge, had a gun when he and Chambers took the children Saturday from a foster home in Boone in western North Carolina.

The foster mother, who asked that her name be withheld, told ABC News' "Good Morning America" she tried to keep Canter and Chambers from taking the children, but she was afraid for her life.

"They started pushing their way in and I put my hand up to tell them no, and he [Chambers] pulled out a gun. Paul saw Alisha and ran over to her. And Alisha handed him to James. She grabbed Breanna and they were gone," the foster mother said.

Authorities say they found the couple's car, a rifle and a handgun just over the state line in Johnson County, Tenn., after the alleged abduction.

Watauga County Sheriff Mark Shook said the FBI assisted in the case because the couple crossed state lines.

Shook said he had been worried about the well-being of the toddler and baby given the couple's history. The county social services agency took custody of the children last March after a raid on the couple's home, where authorities said they discovered a methamphetamine lab.

Canter has been a fugitive since the raid. Chambers was arrested at the house and charged with manufacturing meth and maintaining a dwelling for its manufacture. She posted bail about two months later.

Canter and Chambers now face two counts each of child abduction, felonious restraint and assault with a gun.

A man and a woman who were in the mobile home with Canter and Chambers were also taken into custody. Jeff Brown, 34, andSharon Woodards, 43, were charged with being accessories after the fact to felony child abduction, authorities said.

ABC News affiliate WATE of Knoxville, Tenn., contributed to this report.