Four children vanished from every school record, every doctor's office, and every government database in December 2019.
For six years, nobody came looking.
But Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier just told the country exactly what happened to them – and the two people responsible are now staring down the death penalty.
What Uthmeier Found Inside That Truck
Keisha Monique Epps, 51, drove a commercial semi-truck on routes between Atlanta and Miami for a company called Forward Air.
She brought four children with her – two boys and two girls, ages five to nine – and locked them in the sleeper cab while she worked.
They shared a single bunk so small they had to sleep curled up side by side.
They couldn't lie flat.
They were rarely allowed out, even to use the bathroom.
They hadn't been to school in five years.
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They hadn't seen a doctor – not even after one girl burned herself cooking noodles and was left with a permanent scar.
A detective who interviewed the children noted they were "walking with an unnatural gait from being confined to the cab."
Uthmeier's phrase was blunter: "They would leave the kids locked in this rolling dungeon."
Epps's fiancé, Tamra Marshon Stewart, 37, was in the cab whenever Epps was sleeping, showering, or driving.
Stewart sexually abused the two girls.
When the boys witnessed it and told Epps, Stewart beat them by punching them in the heads.
When the children told Epps directly, she called them derogatory names, said she didn't believe them, and kept leaving them alone with Stewart.
During the investigation, Stewart admitted to three sexual batteries against one of the girls – including one in Orlando.
Florida's statewide prosecutor is now filing capital sexual battery charges.
Under Florida law, sexual battery of a child under 12 carries the death penalty.
The System That Let This Happen for Six Years
These four children didn't fall through the cracks.
Four kids disappeared from school rolls and medical records in December 2019, and for nearly six years not one government agency went looking – even though every state in America has mandatory reporting laws and compulsory education requirements on the books.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office found these kids by accident – a detective was already investigating Stewart on a separate sexual battery case when he spotted the situation in a Forward Air parking lot.
That's the only reason those children are free today.
Not the system. Not the safeguards.
A detective who happened to be there for something else.
Uthmeier's office has since taken the case statewide, filing charges in Orange County – where one of Stewart's admitted assaults took place – under the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
"Children are Florida's future – our greatest hopes and our most sacred responsibility," said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass.
Uthmeier Has Been Putting Predators on Notice
This case didn't land in a vacuum.
Since his appointment in February 2025, Uthmeier's Office of Statewide Prosecution has been associated with the takedown of more than 1,400 child predators and participated in over 1,500 child exploitation investigations.
Last November, his "Operation Home for the Holidays" – led alongside U.S. Marshals – rescued 122 missing children in what Uthmeier called one of the largest child-recovery operations in U.S. history.
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In July, Uthmeier put the contrast as plainly as anyone can: "In Florida, you'll face the death penalty for raping a child. In Minnesota, you'll be rewarded with a pardon."
That line lands differently now.
While blue states debate "trauma-informed approaches" and quietly pardon offenders, Florida is filing capital charges against two people who turned a semi-truck cab into a six-year prison for four small children.
Epps is currently held on a $400,000 bond.
Stewart is being held without bond, and additional charges are expected as the investigation continues.
Sources:
- Allison Petro, "A rolling prison: 4 children confined, abused in semi-truck for 6 years, Florida AG says," WFLA, September 1, 2026.
- Drew Dixon, "James Uthmeier details arrest of 2 suspects in 'horrific' child abuse case," Florida Politics, September 1, 2026.
- Natasha Holt, "Florida couple allegedly held four children in tractor-trailer cab for nearly six years," Fox News, August 23, 2026.
- Staff, "Couple charged with child neglect after 4 kids found living in semitruck since 2019," News4Jax, August 12, 2026.
- Staff, "AG Uthmeier announces record takedown of child predators in a year for Florida," WFLA, March 2026.
- Staff, "Florida AG threatens child predators with death penalty after announcing rescue of 122 children," Christian Post, November 2025.
