A four-year-old child was found safe after a stranger stole the car they were sleeping in, according to police.
An employee at the Big Bear Food Mart on Willow Road in Guelph, Ont. said a man came into the convenience store on Monday afternoon and tried to steal merchandise. When asked to leave, the man exposed himself.
The Guelph Police Service said he then got into an idling SUV and drove off.
That was when a woman, who the employee described as frantic, ran outside.
She told him her SUV had been stolen, with her four-year-old still in the backseat.
“When we hear a call come over the radio and there’s been a vehicle stolen with a child inside, everyone is immediately concerned for the safety of the child,” said Scott Tracey, a spokesperson for Guelph Police. “It’s a very dangerous situation being with an unknown person. We don’t know what their motives or capabilities are. Certainly, when that call came in, every officer that was able to respond, did. That includes our detectives branch, patrol officers out on the road. Every officer in the city that was available, did so as well.”
Sixteen minutes after the SUV was reported stolen, it was found on a nearby street.
“The child was, in fact, still sleeping in the back seat and was unharmed,” police said.
Officers then located and arrested the suspect.
The 29-year-old from Guelph was charged theft of a motor vehicle, theft under $5,000 and committing an indecent act.
Reminder from police
Guelph Police also wanted to remind the public about the danger of leaving children in cars, especially during a heat wave.
“Children should never be left unattended, during any weather,” Tracey said. “Animals should also not be left unattended in vehicles. The temperature inside vehicles just gets critically hot, very quickly.”
Theft should also be top of mind for drivers.
“Make sure vehicles are locked and the keys are not inside,” Tracey added. “[That] takes away the opportunity for someone to steal them.”
With reporting from Karis Mapp
