Teens stole car dad left warming up with his 3-year-old daughter inside, OR cops say
Two teens have been arrested after a car was stolen with a 3-year-old inside, Oregon police said.
The Portland father stepped “inside the home for a moment,” leaving the car on to warm up with his daughter inside, and came back to see “a young man” jumping in the car and driving off on Nov. 30, the Portland Police Bureau said in a news release.
“At first I thought Thora had somehow gotten out of her car seat and into the front and put it into gear, because that was kind of the only thing that made sense in my brain,” the girl’s father, Will Stevens, told Oregon Live. “But then I saw someone in the driver’s seat.”
He opened the car door, yelling that there was a child in the car, police said.
However, the suspect continued to drive away, police said.
A resident saw a car “driving recklessly” and then noticed “a little girl walking down the street,” police said.
“She was just crying for her mommy, so I scooped her up and looked around, but nobody was there,” Danielle Tran told Oregon Live.
She found an officer who was searching the neighborhood, and the toddler, who was not hurt, was reunited with family, police said.
The car, though, was not found until later that evening, according to police.
After months of investigation, which included searching cell phone records, two Portland teenagers, ages 13 and 14, were arrested, police said in a Feb. 9 news release.
The 13-year-old is facing a number of charges, including kidnapping, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and robbery, according to police. The 14-year-old is facing an unlawful use of motor vehicle charge.
This story was originally published February 9, 2024 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Teens stole car dad left warming up with his 3-year-old daughter inside, OR cops say."
