• Gabe Semenza •
• Originally published January 5, 2009 at 11:42 p.m., updated January 5, 2009 at 11:42 p.m.

Stanley Griffin spent his 45th birthday on Saturday in tears. Monday, he had reason to be happy.

Griffin's two grandchildren - 5-year-old Javante Griffin and Israel Griffin, 1 - were taken Friday night by their biological mother, Victoria native Laquanda Williams.

Williams, 27, took the boys from the grandfather's Houston-area home, said Missouri City Detective Greg Nelson.

After three days, the mother called Nelson to say she'd return her children to detectives.

Williams lost custody of the boys because she has a history of mental illness and accusations of family violence, according to court documents obtained from Jackson County.

Williams regularly beat or whipped her boys with her hands, belts, extension cords and shoes, among other objects, court documents contend.

The grandfather gained legal custody of Javante three years ago and Israel last year.

While police treated the mother's action as a kidnapping, the official charge is interfering with child custody, said Capt. John Bailey with the Missouri City Police Department.

"It's great news. The way I felt earlier and the way I feel now, you can't imagine the weight that's been lifted," Griffin said Monday night by phone. "It's not over until they walk through my door, though, when I see them, hug them, love them."

Griffin choked up while recalling three days without the boys.

During a supervised visit in Missouri City on Friday, Williams told the grandfather her sons needed food. Because Griffin's adult son was also in the home, he felt comfortable leaving briefly to go to the grocery store, he said.

When he returned, the mother and boys were gone.

Detectives searched Houston and Victoria - where Williams has extended family - but to no avail. On late Monday afternoon, Williams called the Missouri City detective to report she'd return her sons.

As of 6:30 p.m., the boys had not been returned.

Nelson, the detective, said Williams had fled Victoria but declined to say whether the boys were harmed.

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