Stolen Car with Boy Inside Found, Thief Still on the Loose

SELMA – A thief broke into a car Wednesday afternoon outside of a business in Selma, perhaps unaware that two children were in the backseat of the vehicle.

The incident happened around 3:15 p.m. in a parking lot located near Whitson and Floral avenues in Selma. A woman left her Honda Civic running with her 5-year-old and 10-year-old children in the back seat while she went inside a business nearby.

While she was busy inside the business, a man walked up to the car and hopped into the driver’s seat, according to Selma Police Chief Myron Dyck. The 10-year-old was able to jump out of the vehicle and went inside the business to tell the mother what had happened.

The 5-year-old boy was still in the backseat as his mom watched the thief take off with the car and her son. She immediately called the police.

Authorities began a search for the vehicle and the child. Around an hour later, officers found the Honda abandoned in a rural area near Leonard and Manning avenues, just north of Selma. The little boy was still inside the car, but the suspect was gone.

Chief Dyck said finding the child was the priority.

“Vehicles can be replaced, our children and people can’t, and so it worked out as well as you can hope it would,” he said.

Investigators do not believe that the man knew the child was in the car until he drove away. He is wanted for car theft, but could also face kidnapping charges.

The suspect is described as a man in his 20s with a fair complexion and clean shaven. He was wearing a red ball cap. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call the Selma Police Department.

Authorities would also like to remind everyone that it is not safe to leave children unattended in the car, and you should never get out of your car with the engine running for any length of time.

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