A path behind Jamestown Place goes over a stream and into the back parking lot of a Food Lion, where the suspects are said to have parked when they abducted Aveion Lewis, 2.

Photos by ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times

Roanoke police officers canvass the neighborhood of Jamestown Place on Friday, collecting information on the abduction of Aveion Lewis, 2.

• Missing: Aveion M. Lewis
• Age: 2
• Last seen wearing: Yellow SpongeBob Squarepants footie pajamas
• Call police with any information: 853-2411 or (800) 822-4453

The suspects

• Three black men in their 20s who could be driving a white, 1990s model Chevrolet Blazer (Click for more details.)

Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

A Roanoke police officer collects forensic evidence from the home of Aveion Lewis, who was reportedly abducted in the Jamestown Place neighborhood in Southeast Roanoke.

The kidnappers knocked the stepfather unconscious, bound and gagged a girl, ransacked the house and left a ransom note before taking the 2-year-old boy.

Thursday's reported violent abduction of Southeast Roanoke toddler Aveion M. Lewis received national media attention on Friday as police and FBI agents continued searching for him.

He was home with his stepfather, Brandon Lockett, and three siblings when a knock came from the back door of their duplex in Jamestown Place, Lockett said Friday.

As soon as Lockett opened the door, he was knocked unconscious, he said.

"All I felt was just a bam," he said. He said he didn't know what he was hit with.

Lockett, who had a cut on his lip and evident swelling on his face Friday morning, said he woke up in the living room just as his wife, Morgan Lockett, returned home.

They found their 4-year-old girl gagged and bound in a bedroom. Two other children, a 2-year-old girl and an 11-month-old boy, were not harmed.

Police were called about 6:40 p.m. and searched the neighborhood with K-9s. Virginia State Police brought in a helicopter that has an infrared camera to detect body heat.

On Friday, detectives knocked on doors in the area and showed residents pictures of the boy. Officers throughout the city handed out fliers. The FBI showed a photo of Aveion on electronic billboards across the state, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent information on the case to police departments within 100 miles of Roanoke.

Police had also set up a command center at its downtown headquarters, which will be open 24 hours to take tips and review information.

Police had not ruled out any possibility in the case as of Friday evening, said Aisha Johnson, the department's spokeswoman.

Brandon Lockett was able to give police a description of each suspect, because he said he'd seen them hanging around the duplex earlier in the day.

At one point, he asked them to leave, and one of the men said his name was Tony, and that he knew a friend of Lockett's.

Lockett said he believes the abductors were using his family to get to someone he knows because the ransom note, which asked for $10,000, was addressed to that person. Lockett declined to disclose the name on the note.

He said he is angry that the men involved his family in their dispute.

"We live a simple life," he said. "We don't bother nobody."

The Locketts' anger mixed with anguish as the couple waited at home Friday for news of Aveion.

"I just want my baby back," Morgan Lockett said.

She is particularly worried about her son's health because he was born premature and has digestive problems. As a result, he doesn't have a lot of fat on his body, and has to be kept warm or his body temperature drops quickly, the family said.

But the Locketts remain hopeful.

Aveion will be 3 on Jan. 26, and the family is still planning to celebrate his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese.

"He's going to come home," Brandon Lockett said.

Until he's found, the family said prayer is all that can help them.

"God's going to keep him safe," Lockett said.