When Florida police conducted a traffic stop in Polk County on February 1, 2025, they had no idea what they were about to uncover. Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies pulled over a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer in Polk City and quickly identified the driver as 34-year-old Twanda Neal and a passenger in the front of the vehicle as 50-year-old Anthony Davis. But who they found in the back seat surprised them most.
According to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Neal had an active arrest warrant from Pinellas County for child abuse. When deputies looked in the car’s back seat, they reportedly found her two sons, Bradley Neal, 12, and Tramareiance Artis, 14, who had been reported as endangered and missing in October 2024.
In October, the mother took Bradley to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for an illness, WFTS reported. She allegedly refused to continue the recommended treatment and took the child from the hospital “against the doctor’s recommendation.” This prompted the issue of an arrest warrant on a neglect charge.
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Those who know the boys said they last saw them on October 9 in the 500 block of 6th Avenue South in St. Petersburg. At the time, the St. Petersburg Police Department put a plea on Facebook for help finding the children. Many prayed for the children’s safety.
“This kind of thing never ends well. Pray for the children,” one commenter wrote.
Thankfully, this time, authorities found the children safe. During the traffic stop, deputies claimed Twanda Neal had called 911 and said she felt scared for her life.
Deputies told Neal to hang up the phone and get out of the vehicle, but she continually refused and resisted. As a deputy worked to remove Neal from the car, Davis struck the deputies multiple times. Neal and Anthony Davis were both arrested, and the two children were turned over to the Florida Department of Children & Families.
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In addition to a previous charge of child neglect, Twanda Neal now faces an additional charge of misuse of 911 and resisting arrest. Davis also faces a charge of battery on a law enforcement officer and a charge for resisting arrest with violence.
