Mississippi woman, 20, who went missing after posting video of injuries 'from being beaten by dad and step-mom because she'd called them racist on Facebook - landing HER a night in jail' is found safe (12 Pics)

Kaileigh Schmidt, 21, of Hattiesburg, was booked into the Jones County Adult Detention Center at noon Wednesday and charged with two counts of obscene communication
Kaileigh Schmidt, 21, of Hattiesburg, was booked into the Jones County Adult Detention Center at noon Wednesday and charged with two counts of obscene communication
A Mississippi woman who disappeared after she was jailed over a post accusing her father and stepmother of being racist on Facebook, before posting a video of her bruises claiming they'd beaten her, is in a 'safe and secure location', say cops.
Kaileigh Schmidt, 20, of Hattiesburg, was booked into the Jones County Adult Detention Center at noon on June 10 and charged with two counts of obscene communication.
Kaileigh was detained after she posted a series of screenshots to Facebook on June 5 allegedly showing her father, Robert Schmidt Sr. and her stepmother, Tracy Schmidt, using racial slurs.
She also sent the messages to Antifa's and Black Lives Matter's social pages, along with her parents' address, phone numbers and pictures of them, causing them to receive 'hundreds of death threats'. 
Kaileigh was released from the jail the following day on June 11 into the custody of her father. Family, friends and even her attorney have told DailyMail.com that they haven't heard from Kaileigh since, leaving them 'sick with worry'. 
'This isn't like her at all,' one of her friends, who spoke on the grounds of anonymity, told DailyMail.com. 'She usually wouldn't just not talk to people. Even if it takes her like 30 minutes to answer me, she always answers.'
She was arrested Wednesday and released the following day after a judge in the Jones County Justice Court dropped all charges, her attorney Carlos Moore said
She was arrested Wednesday and released the following day after a judge in the Jones County Justice Court dropped all charges, her attorney Carlos Moore said
Schmidt posted a series of screenshots to Facebook on June 5 allegedly showing her father and stepmother using racial slurs
Schmidt posted a series of screenshots to Facebook on June 5 allegedly showing her father and stepmother using racial slurs
Schmidt has since taken to Facebook once more, insisting what her parents did was ‘very wrong’, but she does not ‘condone violence towards them either. Family or not violence doesn't help anything. Change doesn't happen with violence. So please anyone that’s making threats towards them need to stop. We cant fight and win with violence.’
Schmidt has since taken to Facebook once more, insisting what her parents did was 'very wrong', but she does not 'condone violence towards them either. Family or not violence doesn't help anything. Change doesn't happen with violence. So please anyone that's making threats towards them need to stop. We cant fight and win with violence.'
Jones County Sheriff's Department confirmed on Monday that Schmidt was not missing but was in a 'safe and secure location' away from her parents. 
'We have been bombarded with numerous welfare concerns and checks on her and we know she is fine.'
They also dismissed theories that she had been arrested because her parents were friends with the department. 
'There are also rumors of the department being friends with the parents and so forth. Trust me, I do not know the parents, and would not know them unless they introduced themselves to me. 
'We did not arrest her for posting the messages... She was arrested for attempting to cause bodily harm by posting personal information such as their personal information. Upon further investigation, these charges were deemed misdemeanor with the burden of proof left up to the parents who signed the charges , and the charges were later dismissed by the parents.'   
In the hours after her release, all of Kaileigh's social media pages were taken down. Her phone has also remained switched off since, ringing straight through to answerphone, the friend said. 
Kaileigh also recently started a new job at a Hobby Lobby store in Hattiesburg, prior to her arrest. The 20-year-old was said to be 'very excited' about her new job, but has failed to turn up for work since. 
Supervisors at the store have allegedly been unable to contact her. She reportedly left her purse at the store after her last shift and has not been back to claim it since.
'I don't feel right about it,' the source continued. 'It's not sitting well with me.' 
On June 5, Kaileigh posted a series of screenshots to Facebook allegedly showing Robert Schmidt and Tracy Schmidt using a series of sickening racial slurs.
In one of the messages, said to be authored by her father, Robert wrote that her step-mother was crying because Schmidt was 'partying with n*****s. If you want us to keep helping I can't see that s*** no more. I'm blown away n*****s.'
Schmidt responded by texting 'Don't call them that. It doesn't matter of they are black or white they are all down to earth people and I've been friends with them ever since I've been in Hattiesburg. They were there for me when yal weren't.'
Since walking out of the Jones County Detention Center, family, friends and even her attorney have told DailyMail.com that Kaileigh hasn't been heard from since
Since walking out of the Jones County Detention Center, family, friends and even her attorney have told DailyMail.com that Kaileigh hasn't been heard from since
Kaileigh also replied to comments her father texted to her about the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. She told her father officer Derek Chauvin was 'NOT doing his job. What he did was MURDER.'
She continued to write that her father was 'f****d in the head,' if he believed the officer was doing the right thing. Schmidt added she was 'taking a stand with the black community' and said she was unfazed by her parent's threats to no longer speak to her and block her on social media.
'Yal may be blood but they are family to me,' Schmidt wrote of her friends on the receiving end of her father's ire. 'And I'm fine with getting my own insurance …
'And if you keep being ugly and spreading racist s **t I'll blast yal on Facebook insta etc and let the world give yal a taste of how it feels … If yal are Christians like yal claim yal will love everyone equally but yal dont yal are hypocrites.' 
Kaileigh later claimed that she was beaten by Tracy Schmidt after posting the exchanges online. Robert Schmidt, meanwhile, allegedly stood and watched the attack take place, calling her a 'n***** loving whore.' 
She sent friends pictures and videos of what she claimed were bruises caused by the alleged beating.
In one of the videos two large aberrations are seen on her forehead. In a second, Kaileigh is seen running her hands through her hair with large clumps falling out with each motion. 

In one of the videos two large aberrations are seen on her forehead
In one of the videos two large aberrations are seen on her forehead
In a second, Kaileigh is seen running her hands through her hair with large clumps falling out with each motion
In a second, Kaileigh is seen running her hands through her hair with large clumps falling out with each motion
'I know that Kaileigh and Tracy have had disagreements and fights before and I know that some of them have gotten out of hand before,' a friend of Kaileigh's told DailyMail.com.  
The Jones County Sheriff's Office has since been inundated with requests from concerned members of the public to conduct a welfare check on Kaileigh. 
Her attorney, Javaron Buckley, a managing partner at Buckley Law Group, told DailyMail.com how he too requested the sheriff's department to check on his client after he'd been unable to contact her since her release.
'She was absolutely terrified in the jail,' Buckley said, adding that the sheriff's department had assured him they had carried out a wellness check and reported that Kaileigh was 'fine'. 
'When I asked when and how, the dispatch said, 'we sent an officer who asked her if she was ok,',' the attorney recalled. 'Do I believe JPD completed a wellness check? No.' 
Buckley, who is based in Illinois but originally from Mississippi, said he sent two of his associates to go and conduct their own welfare check on Kaileigh. 
According to the attorney, there was no answer at the door and no car on the driveway, leading him to believe the family may have left town, taking Kaileigh with them. 
'I think she's being punished,' Buckley said, declining to elaborate further. 'There's a lot of things that transpired along with this case. Her dad owns an air conditioning business and has reportedly been financially impacted by the fallout.'  
The Jones County Sheriff's Office has not yet responded to a series of questions asked by DailyMail.com. 
In a statement released to Facebook on Wednesday, Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin assured the public that Kaileigh is 'safe' but does 'not want to be contacted by anyone'
In a statement released to Facebook on Wednesday, Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin assured the public that Kaileigh is 'safe' but does 'not want to be contacted by anyone'
A friend of Kaileigh's told DailyMail.com that the sheriff's office's claims that Kaileigh 'doesn't want to be contacted' seem out of character for the 20-year-old.
'I don't think it sounds like her at all. Anything is possible but it just doesn't sound right,' the source said. 'I don't feel right about it.
'I'm worried that [Robert and Tracy]just have her held up with no way to contact anyone on the outside of whatever house they're at.'
According to Buckley, Kaileigh's biological mother, Chantelle Dunn, received a text from her daughter's phone hours after she was released.
Dunn had been texting her daughter while she was in jail, assuring her she was doing all she could to get her out. 
'Leave me alone!!! This is all lies and u lie the most!!!,' a response from Kaileigh's phone read.
'Lmao I do not believe this is Kaileigh for one second,' Dunn replied, with Buckley later clarifying to DailyMail.com that Dunn believed Tracy Schmidt had taken her daughter's phone and authored the message herself.
Buckley said that Tracy Schmidt has 'a history' of similar behavior. Those claims were corroborated by Kaileigh's friend.
'A couple of years ago they had a big disagreement and Tracy took Kaileigh's phone away,' the source said. 'Tracy sent texts out pretending to be Kaileigh and I called her out on it. She spread rumors about me and just hated me in general. It was awful.'
Listed phone numbers for Tracy and Robert Schmidt went unanswered when contacted by DailyMail.com. Kaileigh's phone also went straight to voicemail. 
Buckley says he is planning to press charges against Tracy Schmidt for the purported assault, in addition to launching a civil suit against the city for the emotional distress they caused his client and possibly for false imprisonment too. 
According to Buckley, Kaileigh's biological mother, Chantelle Dunn, received a text from her daughter's phone hours after she was released. Dunn believed Tracy Schmidt had taken her daughter's phone and authored the message herself
According to Buckley, Kaileigh's biological mother, Chantelle Dunn, received a text from her daughter's phone hours after she was released. Dunn believed Tracy Schmidt had taken her daughter's phone and authored the message herself
In posting the screenshots of her parent's alleged racial comments, Kailey said she had hoped for her parents to 'go viral', but quickly the post was shared thousands of times and her father and stepmother quickly started receiving death threats.
The fallout started after Kaileigh's dad and step-mom took her car away from her, police said.
'My parents are RACIST and I'm tired of it,' Kaileigh wrote in her post. 'I tagged the piece of s***s so yal can blast them too! They aren't my family anymore!' 
In posting the screenshots of her parent's alleged racial comments, Schmidt said she had hoped for her parents to ‘go viral’, but quickly the post was shared thousands of times and her father and stepmother quickly started receiving death threats
In posting the screenshots of her parent's alleged racial comments, Schmidt said she had hoped for her parents to 'go viral', but quickly the post was shared thousands of times and her father and stepmother quickly started receiving death threats
Threats to kill family members and burn down their home quickly flooded in, in the post's wake. Specific threats were also leveled against Kaileigh's younger siblings, including one person saying they would rape her and make her family watch.
The Jones County Sheriff's Department had to conduct extra patrols around their home in Petal in light of the threats.
'Members of different churches, preachers, people of all different races have been trying to bring peace, but now they're getting death threats, too,' investigator Reuben Bishop told the Laurel Leader Call at the time. 'It got out of hand real quick.'
Kaileigh was arrested Wednesday and released the following day after a judge in the Jones County Justice Court dropped all charges, her attorney Carlos Moore said.
'She spent a night in jail for simply exercising her First Amendment right on Facebook,' Moore said.
'Now, we are prepared to fight for her in the civil arena because someone maliciously prosecuted her and she was falsely arrested and she was falsely imprisoned – and we want to get justice for her.'
Schmidt has since taken to Facebook once more, insisting what her parents did was 'very wrong', but she does not 'condone violence towards them either. Family or not violence doesn't help anything. Change doesn't happen with violence. So please anyone that's making threats towards them need to stop. We cant fight and win with violence.'
She also posted a message about starting a GoFundMe 'like yal are wanting, as much as I need a new car and everything and as much help as I need I'd hate to take money from anyone, definitely people I dont even know but are being kind out of your own hearts! … Thank you all so much for showing me your love and support!' 
Law enforcement are continuing to watch over her parent's home.
'I hope maybe this shows people to think about what they post,' Bishop said to the Leader Call. 'This turned into a big mess real quick.'

Mississippi woman, 20, who went missing after posting video of injuries 'from being beaten by dad and step-mom because she'd called them racist on Facebook - landing HER a night in jail' is found safe (12 Pics) Mississippi woman, 20, who went missing after posting video of injuries 'from being beaten by dad and step-mom because she'd called them racist on Facebook - landing HER a night in jail' is found safe (12 Pics) Reviewed by Your Destination on June 18, 2020 Rating: 5

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