What to Know
- Philadelphia police say the child’s mother had put her son in a child seat with the vehicle running early Thursday when she ran back into the house to get a item that she had forgotten.
- The stolen car was driven off. Officers recovered the vehicle about 40 minutes later about three blocks.
- The sleeping boy was still in his car seat and was in good condition.
Police were searching for a suspect Thursday after recovering a running car that was stolen off a Southwest Philadelphia street with a 1-year-old in the back seat.
The child's mother had put her son in a child seat with the vehicle running when she ran back into the house near 59th Street and Florence Avenue to get an item that she had forgotten. The car was driven off down Cobbs Creek Parkway.
“We believe that since the vehicle’s engine was running, someone saw an opportunity to steal the car, didn’t realize that there was a 1-year-old child in the back seat,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
The mother then called 911 and the description of the stolen Nissan Sentra was sent out citywide, police said.
Officers recovered the vehicle about 40 minutes later about three blocks away in a secluded back alley, the engine still running. The child was still in his car seat, sleeping. He wasn't injured.
"We’re lucky that 1-year-old child is OK and reunited with the mother, so it’s actually a happy ending,” Small said. “The lesson learned here is don’t leave your engine running, especially if you have your child in the back seat.”
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Police were investigating the case as a kidnapping because the child was taken.
