Boy found unharmed after vehicle stolen while he slept inside, Philadelphia police say
Philadelphia police reunited a little boy with his family Friday after a car was stolen as he slept in the back seat.
Police are investigating the theft from a grocery store parking lot in the city's Germantown neighborhood early Friday morning.
Offcers responding to a reported abduction arrived at the Save A Lot at Chelten and Pulaski avenues just after midnight, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Police then spoke to the child's mother, who said she left the vehicle running while inside the store when the car was stolen.
She gave police a good description of the vehicle and they began searching the area. Less than a half hour later, officers located the car parked one block away on the 200 block of West Chelten Avenue with the boy still sleeping in the back seat.
Small said police believe this was a crime of opportunity, and once the thief realized there was a sleeping child in the car, they ditched the vehicle. However, police are still investigating this as a vehicle theft and kidnapping, he said.
The 6-year-old boy had just been released from medical treatment for a possible broken leg — and was in a cast with crutches, Small said. The boy was unharmed and taken with his mother to the Special Victims Unit so they could both give statements.
It is unclear how many people were involved in the vehicle theft. Police are now looking at nearby surveillance cameras to help lead them to a suspect.
