Mindy McCready and Son Safe: "The Child Is Not Abducted," Say Police

Troubled country star has until Thursday to voluntarily appear in court with her son or face the music

Whew.

Law enforcement officials in Florida have confirmed that country crooner Mindy McCready and her 5-year-old son, Zander, are "safe" after it was reported the pair had gone missing.

Here's the deal.

Lieutenant Tony Sizemore of the Cape Coral Police Department tells E! News that authorities have been in contact with the 36-year-old singer and were not searching for them as previous media stories indicated.

"This is not a missing person investigation," Sizemore said. "She's safe, and the child is safe."

The spokesman pointed out that McCready is in violation of terms set forth in family court, not criminal court—which would require police involvement—as part of a prior agreement that gave full custody of Zander to her parents and McCready visitation rights.

"She currently has the child and by doing so she is outside the terms of her custody/visitation agreement," Sizemore tells E!. "This is not a criminal matter and does not require an Amber alert. The child is not abducted."

The spokesman added that a family court judge issued an emergency order giving McCready until 5 p.m. Thursday to produce the child. If she fails to do so, the judge would be able to take action, such as issuing a warrant for her arrest.

Neither the country star nor her lawyer could be reached for comment. But McCready posted a Facebook message Tuesday night in which she stated, "There is no Amber alert and my son is not missing" as "police established that this afternoon via Skype."

"I have been fighting the Florida court system to protect my son, and bring him home," she wrote. "Please do not worry."

The issue over McCready's whereabouts was touched off by Florida's Department of Children and Families, which reportedly filed a missing persons report after the singer removed Zander from her parents' Cape Coral residence without permission.

A court granted her mother guardianship over the boy in 2007 after the Celebrity Rehab patient was jailed for violating her probation on a substance-related charge and McCready has been battling to get Zander back ever since.

In any event, McCready has seen her career overshadowed by personal woes including drug addiction, stints in rehab and jail, the release of a supposedly unauthorized sex tape, and mental health issues that culminated in an attempted suicide and some near-fatal overdoses.

Here's hoping she works things out soon.

—Reporting by Sharareh Drury