Late Wednesday night in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, a four-year-old boy was found safe after being abducted in a stolen vehicle. Police responded to a call just before midnight from the toddler’s mom, who reported her Toyota SUV had been taken with her sleeping son inside. She’d left the car running outside a relative’s house for about a minute to grab her phone when someone stole the vehicle.
Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small says the mother informed officers that one of her son’s toys had an electronic tracker, allowing them to follow the vehicle's location. Using real-time updates from the tracker, a police helicopter quickly spotted the SUV about a mile away. Officers converged on the area and found the abandoned vehicle with the child still asleep inside.
Police believe the theft was a crime of opportunity and that the suspect abandoned the SUV when they realized a child was inside. While it may not have been an intentional kidnapping, Small confirms that it’s still considered a kidnapping under the law. Investigators are now searching for the suspect.
Source: CBS NEWS
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