Father of Kidnapped Mo. Kids Present in Fla. Grocery store Says They’re ‘Nonetheless in Shock’

The daddy of the 2 Missouri kids, who had been discovered inside a Florida grocery store after allegedly being kidnapped by their noncustodial mom, is talking out.

Blake Gilley, 38, gave an replace to NBC Information on how his two kids, Brooke and Adrian Gilley, have been doing following the incident after reuniting with them on Friday.

“They’re nonetheless in shock,” he stated. “You may see that is bothering them.”

Police discovered Kristi Nicole Gilley and the 2 children — who had been reported lacking in Missouri mid-March 2022 — after conducting a routine car tag within the car parking zone of a grocery store in Winn-Dixie in Excessive Springs, Florida. Police have been alerted that she had been a fugitive, and so they promptly detained and arrested Gilley on an lively kidnapping warrant.

Blake advised NBC Information he had been “terrified and freaked out” when his kids have been reported lacking, including, “I did not know the place they’re. … That is the most important worry on the earth.”

The 2 kids reportedly gave their father some perception into how their life has been over the previous 12 months for the reason that alleged kidnapping. Based on NBC Information, he stated that the children had been stored out of faculty after they have been reported lacking and had prevented detection by transferring from one Airbnb to a different in several states.

He additionally stated that his kids advised him that they have been primarily stored indoors, and once they needed to exit publicly, they have been warned to not converse with others or look anybody within the eyes.

“Kristi would by no means inform them what city they have been in or something,” Blake stated. “In the event that they have been in a automobile, they needed to preserve their heads down. My son nonetheless does that.”

He went on to notice that his son, who has Down syndrome, will nonetheless typically “simply have a look at the bottom,” however is “getting higher now.”

“I have been telling him, ‘Hey, you are good, buddy, lookup,’ ” he stated.

Blake added that he desires to get his kids again in class and get them some counseling “to offer them a preventing probability in life.”

Need to sustain with the most recent crime protection? Join PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime information, ongoing trial protection and particulars of intriguing unsolved instances.

Kristi pleaded not responsible on Friday. Her lawyer, Maurice McDaniel advised NBC Information that she denied all these allegations.

McDaniel has not but responded to PEOPLE’s request for remark.

Based on Blake, he and Kristi divorced in 2016, however she had disappeared earlier than resolving a custody dispute over the youngsters, per NBC.

The information website obtained courtroom paperwork out of Clay County, Missouri that stated that Blake and Kristi had a joint custody settlement previous to April 14 out of Randall County, Texas, however that he ultimately was granted sole custody after she did not make an look in courtroom.

The report stated, per NBC Information: “Kristi had been making it more and more tougher for Blake to go to or converse to the youngsters for fairly a while, and had refused to let Blake go to or converse to the youngsters in any respect, since 3/15/2022.”