SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 6, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) — A 7-year-old boy who was in the back seat of his father’s Nissan X-Terra when it was stolen from their Salt Lake City home early Wednesday morning has been found safe.
According to Salt Lake City police Lt. Dave Cracroft, the father placed his son in the back seat of the family car at the Raintree Apartments, near 900 North 900 West, at about 5 a.m.
Cracroft says the father left the car running as he went back inside the home to retrieve a second child when a man jumped into the vehicle and drove off with the 7-year-old still inside.
The distraught father contacted police who issued an Amber Alert and began an intense search of the area.
A short while later, a patrol officer spotted the stolen car abandoned at 751 N. Grant St., about two blocks from the family’s home.
The child was still inside and uninjured.
Police say the episode is a painful reminder about just how dangerous it can be to leave vehicles running while unattended.
We’ll have more on this story as information becomes available.
