AMBER Alert Update: 7-month-old Emma Grace Kennedy found safe; father arrested

RANDLEMAN, N.C. - Police say 7-month-old Emma Grace Kennedy, whose abduction by her father triggered an Amber Alert, has been found safe.

Danville Police made the announcement Tuesday just before 1 p.m. Danville officers along with the FBI, U.S. Secret Service and other local authorities arrested 51-year-old Carl Ray Kennedy in Randleman, North Carolina which is about 80 miles west of Raleigh. Krysten Murphy, the baby's mother, previously lived with Kennedy for about a year and a half in Randleman.

In a statement, officials say the girl "appears to be in good health and is being evaluated at a local hospital." Police say her mother has been notified.

Virginia State Police say they issued the Amber Alert after Kennedy kidnapped the girl on Sunday. According to officers, Kennedy was armed with a knife when he assaulted the girl's mother at a Kwik Stop before taking the baby.

Kennedy is a registered sex offender with a long criminal history, police said. He was out of jail on a $250,000 bond on a drug distribution charge.

At the time of his capture, Kennedy was believed to have been heading toward Oak Island on North Carolina's coast.

The Associated Press reported that North Carolina incarceration records show Kennedy was convicted in 2014 on a felony charge of strangulation and a charge of misdemeanor sexual battery. Sexual battery means he engaged in sexual contact with someone against his or her will or with someone who was mentally disabled or physically incapacitated, according to the state's criminal code.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.