SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 29, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A frantic search Saturday for a stolen car with a 1-year-old boy in it had a happy ending when the child and then the suspect were located.
Salt Lake City Police Lt. Robin Heiden said officers got a call just before 9 p.m. from a woman who said her child had been kidnapped.
The woman had driven to an apartment complex near 700 S. 900 West to see someone and had been there only briefly when she saw a man drive off in her car.
Heiden said the car went southbound through a nearby 7-Eleven parking lot, so police were able to get a photo of it from surveillance video and sent out an alert to attempt to locate it.
“About 30 minutes later,” Heiden said, “the baby was dropped off at (Intermountain Medical Center) in Murray.”
She said it’s possible that the suspect had no idea the baby was in the car when he took it.
The child was in good condition and has been returned to his mother.
Police later spotted the car, a 2005 gray Nissan Altima, near 2900 S. State St. They turned on their lights and the driver fled, traveling about 10 blocks and turning west, which was when police terminated the pursuit.
Heiden said the suspect kept going until he crashed the Nissan at about Redwood Road and 3900 South.
The suspect, a 21-year-old man, was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries from the crash. His name is not being released pending his being booked into jail.
Heiden said he will likely be charged with kidnapping, fleeing and any outstanding warrants.
Asked if child abduction is an unusual crime for the area, Heiden said, “We don’t often see a child kidnapping in a vehicle. Sometimes in winter, when people leave the car running so the child stays warm, but not in the summer.”
She pointed out that this sort of incident is a crime of opportunity. “He wanted the car, and he took it.”
Her advice for everyone is to remember that it’s dangerous to leave a child alone in a vehicle at any time.
A frantic search Saturday, July 29, for a stolen car with a 1-year-old in it had a happy ending when the child was found in good condition. When the stolen Nissan Altima was later spotted by police, the driver fled until he crashed the car near Redwood Road and 3900 South. Photo: Gephardt Daily
A suspect was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries after crashing a Nissan Altima stolen out of Salt Lake City on Saturday, July 29, 2017. A 1-year-old boy who was in the car at the time it was stolen was dropped off at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in good condition prior to the suspect crashing the car. Photo: Gephardt Daily
A suspect was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries after crashing a Nissan Altima stolen out of Salt Lake City on Saturday, July 29, 2017. A 1-year-old boy who was in the car at the time it was stolen was dropped off at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in good condition prior to the suspect crashing the car. Photo: Gephardt Daily
A suspect was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries after crashing a Nissan Altima stolen out of Salt Lake City on Saturday, July 29, 2017. A 1-year-old boy who was in the car at the time it was stolen was dropped off at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in good condition prior to the suspect crashing the car. Photo: Gephardt Daily
A frantic search Saturday, July 29, for a stolen car with a 1-year-old in it had a happy ending when the child was found in good condition. When the stolen Nissan Altima was later spotted by police, the driver fled until he crashed the car near Redwood Road and 3900 South. Photo: Gephardt Daily
A suspect was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries after crashing a Nissan Altima stolen out of Salt Lake City on Saturday, July 29, 2017. A 1-year-old boy who was in the car at the time it was stolen was dropped off at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in good condition prior to the suspect crashing the car. Photo: Gephardt Daily
The stolen Nissan Altima was driven through this 7-Eleven parking lot, allowing police to get a photo of the car from surveillance video. A 1-year-old boy who was in the car at the time it was stolen was dropped off at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in good condition prior to the suspect crashing the car while trying to avoid arrest. Photo: Gephardt Daily/SLCScanner
The stolen Nissan Altima was driven through this 7-Eleven parking lot, allowing police to get a photo of the car from surveillance video. A 1-year-old boy who was in the car at the time it was stolen was dropped off at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in good condition prior to the suspect crashing the car while trying to avoid arrest. Photo: Gephardt Daily/SLCScanner
The suspect in the theft of a Nissan Altima with a 1-year-old child in it was taken to the hospital with minor injuries after crashing the car in Salt Lake City. The child had been dropped off at IMC in Murray prior to the crash and was returned to his mother in good condition. Photo: Gephardt Daily