Country singer Mindy McCready is missing and believed to be with her 5-year-old son, Xander. According to WINK television in Fort Myers, Fla., McCready took the boy from her father's house within the last several days and has until Thursday at 5PM to return him or she'll be arrested.

An AMBER alert has not been issued for Xander because family members are sure McCready took her son. A missing persons report has been filed for both the 37-year-old and the boy. Xander had been staying with McCready's parents until she and ex-husband Bill McNight could work out what has been a tumultuous child custody battle.

McCready does not have legal custody of Xander. During a custody hearing in May, WINK reports that a judge gave both parents a stern warning about the consequences of their continued irresponsibility and fighting. "We're not talking about a diamond earring. It's a child," Judge James Seals said.

The 'Ten Thousand Angels' singer has been the subject of tabloid articles since her legal troubles began in 2004. In 2005, McNight was arrested after allegedly beating and choking McCready. The couple continued to see each other and conceived Xander later that year. More recently, McCready filed a lawsuit against her mother and the National Enquirer after the latter published a story in which Gayle Inge said her daughter was an addict and an unfit mother.

Today, Nov. 30, is the singer's birthday.

Watch the Mindy McCready 'Ten Thousand Angels' Video

More From Taste of Country