Detectives are looking for two teens they say stole a vehicle from a church parking lot in south St. Petersburg while a baby was strapped inside.
According to St. Petersburg police, the victims were unloading tables and chairs from their 2013 Toyota Highlander around 2:15 p.m. Sunday at Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church, 2580 12th Avenue S. They briefly left the Highlander unlocked with the keys in the ignition.
Two male teens then jumped inside the vehicle and drove off, apparently not knowing there was a 10-month-old girl secured in a car seat, police said.
Soon after, one of the teens dropped off the baby on the doorstep of the home at 2022 11th Avenue S, unharmed and still sitting in her car seat.
The resident of the home arrived just after the suspect fled.
“I thought he was taking something from the house, he was not taking something he was leaving us a gift,” said Ursula Boykins. “It’s not every day you come home and there’s a baby on your doorstep.
She found the child and called police. When police showed up at her house, the first thing Boykins did is make sure police called the little girl's mother to let her know her baby was okay.
“I needed her to know the baby was in safe hands,” she said.
Around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the vehicle was found in a parking lot at 735 22nd Ave. S.
The suspect who left the baby at the home was wearing beige shorts and a black tank top, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 727-893-7780, Text-A-Tip to 727-420-8911 or leave a confidential tip at 727-892-5000.