An 8-month-old baby who was in the backseat of a stolen car was found safe in a St. Petersburg parking lot.
- Vehicle stolen with baby inside
- Child later found safe - car found empty
- St. Pete police investigation, searching for suspect
"The parents were out here just crazy, as you can imagine,” neighbor Ricardo Larzavan said. “Very, very, distraught.”
St. Petersburg Police spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez said a 2001 Toyota Camry was stolen from the Gateway Apartments at 501 116th Avenue North just before 12:30 p.m.
"According to the father, he put the child in the backseat of the car, in the car seat and then he realized he didn't have his wallet,” she said. “So, he left the car running with the air conditioning on, ran into the apartment to get his wallet and when he came out the car was gone."
Fernandez said witnesses saw a man riding a bicycle who jumped into the car and drove off.
“(He) didn't realize the baby was in the backseat until he got several blocks away,” she said. “And then left the baby where he thought might be kind of a safe place off the roadway and continued."
A photojournalist called 911 after seeing that baby in a car seat in the parking lot of the Park View Condos at 800 71st Avenue North, about three miles south from where the car was stolen.
Police said the baby, who appeared unharmed, was found less than an hour after the mom called 911.
Larzavan said the parents were obviously relieved to be reunited with their baby.
“I know some people are going to be quick to blame him for going inside and leaving the baby,” he said. "Things happen. So, we shouldn't be so quick to judge. Both the parents have been through a lot.”
Fernandez said police were tracking the stolen car but pulling it over presented quite the dilemma.
“Several different patrol officers reported where they saw the vehicle but we couldn't pursue,” she said. “We didn't want to make the driver take off at a high rate of speed and then possibly crash because we thought the baby was still inside the car."
The suspect ditched the car in the 2700 block of 19th Street South and the suspect got away.
Police describe the suspect as a black man in his mid-20s, with facial hair and a thin build. He’s 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. The suspect was last seen wearing a dark-colored T-shirt, grungy light-colored shorts with red plaid boxers.
Anyone with information is asked to call St. Petersburg Police at 727-893-7780.