Missing Baby Mom Reveals Details To CBS 5

Jason Barry

PHOENIX -- The mystery surrounding the disappearance of 8-month old Gabriel Johnson is no closer to being solved, according to police.

In an exclusive interview with CBS 5 News from her jail cell, Elizabeth Johnson, 23, said she has no idea where her little boy is.

Johnson said she gave her baby to a couple she met in San Antonio while running away from Arizona.

“They approached me and came up to me,” she said. “I was alone with the baby at the park.”

Johnson said she knows little about the couple. She said she doesn’t know their last name, address or phone number.

“I trusted them,” she said. “I believed in my heart they were good people. I know how much people who don't have their own children just want a baby and they can't have their own babies.”

Elizabeth Johnson had not revealed the whereabouts of her baby until now.

On Monday, the boy’s father said he received a text message from Elizabeth Johnson telling him she killed their son.

Asked why she would tell Logan McQueary she had killed Gabriel, Johnson said for revenge.

“He had ruined my life,” Johnson said. “He hurt me and I wanted to hurt him and that was the only thing I could say that would hurt him.”

“I was emotionally a wreck and was completely out of my mind and just upset,” she said.

But Gabriel's father, Logan McQueary, says he gave Elizabeth and the baby a good life.

“I’ve been thinking about how I made her life miserable and I don’t see it. Anything she ever wanted, I did for her. Tried to provide for her anyway I could. I went to work every single day and scrounge for money. We didn’t have much but I pretty much did everything I could. I don’t know what exactly I did wrong,” said McQueary.

Johnson said she has told police everything about the Texas couple who has her son. She said she isn’t concerned who has custody.

Johnson said even though she did not harm her baby, she’s not worried about his safety now.

When asked whether she’s worried her baby is dead or alive, she said, “No, I’m not.”

But the boys father is desperate to find him. And said this to anyone in San Antonio who may know where Gabriel is, “I want them to know he has a loving family here and to bring him back, or call. Call somebody and even if they don’t want to get in trouble, just take him somewhere so somebody can find him.”

FBI spokesman Eric Vasys said San Antonio police and FBI agents found Johnson's vehicle outside a San Antonio motel Tuesday night. He said they are processing the car for evidence that might point to the whereabouts of Gabriel Johnson. There were no obvious signs of violence, Vasys said.

McQueary said his ex-girlfriend approached him about giving up his parental rights to their son, saying another couple wanted to adopt him. McQueary refused Johnson's request.

Elizabeth Johnson was taken into custody Wednesday by Miami Beach police.

Johnson was scheduled to appear in Maricopa County Superior Court's Family Court in Phoenix for a Dec. 28 custodial hearing, but authorities said she failed to appear and lost custodial rights to Gabriel Johnson.

The Tempe Police Department said it has been “working around the clock” to locate him.

Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal confirmed threats against the child were made.

"At this point there's no evidence those threats have been carried out, but we're obviously concerned when we don't know where the child is," Carbajal said.