Manhunt In Brooklyn For Thief Who Stole Van With 4-Year-Old Girl Inside
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Saturday morning were searching for whoever stole a van in Brooklyn with a little girl inside.
As CBS 2's Janelle Burrell reported, the child was found safe more than three miles away. But for her family, it all made for some terrifying moments.
The chain of events started around 9 p.m. Friday. Police said the girl's mother pulled over near Fulton Street and Verona Place in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and left the keys in the van she was driving with the 4-year-old girl in the back seat.
The thief saw the vehicle and took off, apparently not realizing that the little girl was still inside.
When he realized the girl was still in the van, he dropped her off at a Mobil gas station at Atlantic Avenue and Hendrix Street, about three miles away from the scene of the theft.
A Good Samaritan saw the girl alone and called police. He said the girl was in emotional shock and crying.
"My daughter saw the baby, so we pulled up, and as soon as we pulled in right here, my daughter goes, 'Look, she's by herself,'" said Joshua Rosado. "The baby was like, telling she was with her mom, and she was in a car, she disappeared, she landed right here. So we just kept questioning her and questioning her. We called the cops."
The girl was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, where she was checked out. Police said she was OK Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, police continued to search for a Chevrolet Astro van, which was described as being dark in color. The van was last seen at Atlantic and Miller avenues, two blocks west of the gas station.
Police were tracking a cell phone in the van via GPS, but the phone was dumped along the way.
