Emma was driven to Detroit, Kentucky, Ohio in 24 hours then dropped off at a Taco Bell in Dayton with $200 to get a cab back to Indianapolis

Aaron was driven to Detroit, had fingers cut, was found in a crashed car

Chilling details have emerged about the kidnap of two children who were driven across four states and had their fingers slashed by drug dealers pursuing money from their estranged older sister, police revealed.

Emma Blackwell, 13, and her brother Aaron, 16, were at their family home in Indianapolis at 2.30am on Monday March 2 when three men with pistols kicked the door in, demanding cash.

After their bemused mother expressed her confusion, the group seized the children, bound them with zip-ties, and stole their mother's phone.

Bundled into separate SUVs, the young teenagers were each subjected to 24 hours of torment before police rescued Aaron in Detroit, Michigan, and Emma was freed by her captors at a Taco Bell in Dayton, Ohio, and given $200 to get home.

Court documents allege their 27-year-old sister, exotic dancer Whitney Blackwell, stole $250,000 from the group's leader, her former boyfriend, John 'Jay' Thomas.

Horrific: Emma Blackwell, 13, (left) was driven to Detroit, Kentucky, and Dayton, Ohio, by a gang who were pursuing her estranged sister. Her brother Aaron, 16, (right) was also taken and has his fingers cut

According to the affidavit, obtained by MLive, Thomas, 38, sent three men to Indianapolis to find Blackwell and his money.

When that failed they took Emma and Aaron on separate journeys.

Aaron, wearing a bathrobe, was blindfolded and bundled into the boot of an SUV.

He was asked questions and each time he couldn't answer would have his fingers slashed, he told investigators.

They repeatedly called his adult brother demanding ransom, threatened to 'chop the kid's fingers off'.

By midday on Monday, police had interviewed Whitney Blackwell and tracked down John 'Jay' Thomas, who said 'I don't know where those kids are at.'

Using Thomas' two phones, they tracked down the rest of the gang in an SUV in Detroit.

One had texted to say they were bored of watching 'the boy', adding: 'U really r crazy, her sister isn't ever going 2 give it money back even if her whole family got wiped'.

Charged: Mother-of-one exotic dancer Whitney Blackwell, 27, claims she stole $43,000 from her former boyfriend John 'Jay' Thomas, allegedly the ringleader of the gang, because she says he became abusive

Attack: Three men with pistols allegedly broke down the door of the Blackwells' family home in Indianapolis at 2.30am on Monday demanding money. When their mother looked bemused, they seized the children

At 7.30pm, the officers attempted a traffic stop on the target vehicle but the driver sped up.

After a high-speed car chase, the fleeing car crashed into a snow bank, the police report said.

The driver and passenger were apprehended, and Aaron was found blindfolded and bound, with bleeding fingers, in the luggage compartment.

He was taken to hospital for stitches on his fingers.

Meanwhile, Emma, in pink and white pajamas, was being carted across Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio, the document states.

She told police around five men took her from her home and put her, without a blindfold, in one of their two SUVs - with her brother in the other.

They drove to Detroit then transferred Emma to another with a man and a woman who drove to a remote property in Kentucky, she said.

Inside, the couple argued about the weather then drove Emma to a Taco Bell in Dayton, Ohio.

Handing her $200, they told her to take a taxi home.

Nobody was at the house when Emma arrived at 2am on Tuesday so she sent a Facebook message to a friend, who immediately called the police.

Five people have been detained, including Thomas, and charged with conspiracy to kidnap.

Whitney Blackwell faces drug dealing charges and remains in custody in Marion County Jail.

She maintains she stole $43,000 from her former boyfriend so she could support her six-year-old son and buy a car.

Describing her time with Thomas, who she started seeing in November 2014, she said he was protective and supportive but became violent.

She told investigators he handled as much a $6 million and 20 grams of cocaine at a time.

According to the Indy Star, Whitney's mother does not believe she feels sorry for what happened to Emma and Aaron.



