CONCORD, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Two missing boys who were taken from Concord have been located safely in Missouri on Monday and their father has been arrested, police said.

At 8:35 a.m. Monday, April 3, brothers Aaron Toliver and Josiah Brooks were located with their father, Aaron Eugene Toliver, at a Super 8 hotel in Rock Port, Missouri.

Authorities said the father was taken into custody and upon his return to North Carolina he will be charged with misdemeanor DVPO and felony abduction by a parent.

The two boys are currently under the care of Missouri Child Protective Services.

Arrangements are being made to rejoin the children with their grandmother as soon as possible.

“The swift and positive outcome, in this case, would not have been possible without cooperation from and coordination with several law enforcement agencies. The Concord Police Department was assisted by the United States Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office,” Concord Police explained.

Authorities said Brooks and Toliver were last seen on Wilshire Avenue before 7 p.m. Saturday evening playing in a neighbor’s yard.

They had been living with their grandmother, who has custody of them.

Concord Police

Queen City News’ Sydney Hiberger spoke with neighbors, family, and friends, who all expressed how much they wanted the boys to get back home safely.

“They play out here almost all day long,” Taylor Bodenheimer, a neighbor, said. “They play with the neighbor boys [on] the trampoline they have.”

Police said the two boys were taken by the father, Aaron Tolliver.

“He jumped the fence,” Angela Matthews, one of the boy’s aunts said, “And [Toliver] basically grabbed the boys and told them to get in the car.”

The boys’ aunt told Queen City news they had been living with their grandmother since Christmas, and eventually, their grandma was awarded temporary custody. Matthews said the grandmother and Toliver were supposed to appear in court on Tuesday for a permanent custody hearing. 

“My mom is going through a lot with these boys, trying to make sure they have a stable home environment,” Matthews continued.

Playing with the boys when they were taken was 11-year-old Xayne Cagle, “When they started driving away, I was getting confused. Because they were driving too fast.”

Xayne had a message for his friends, “Hopefully you’re OK and I hope that you’re going to be home soon.”

Concord Police said this did not meet the state’s criteria for an official Amber Alert.