Images from security cameras show the moment a thief leaves a 3-year-old boy abandoned on the street who was in the car he stole in Holly Hill, Florida.
The suspect took Amber Clark and Taylor Hetznecker’s vehicle Thursday morning.
The 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan was parked outside a home on Clifton Avenue, when the criminal, who has not been identified or arrested, took it with everything and minor.
The couple had stopped at the house to check on an elderly relative and left the little one inside the running car as he was sleeping.
“I started to run and chase him on foot for 100 yards. I knew he wasn’t going to reach it. I called 911 and got in my father’s truck and tried to capture him, but he was gone by then,” Hetznecker told WESH 2.
Surveillance cameras on State Street caught the suspect in the stolen SUV pulling up in an industrial area, pulling the boy out and placing him next to a car parked a few feet from the road.
Next, the offender gets in the car and drives off. Seconds later, a man, identified as Darrel Everman, notices the minor and helps him.
“I was going to my storage unit, and I see a 3-year-old boy sitting alone on the side of the road,” the good Samaritan narrated. “I didn’t see any parents around, so I thought I should stop and inspect it. I was trying to find out where his parents were. I couldn’t, so I called 911. He was crying a little. I knew it was important to try to keep him calm, ”he added to the same medium.
Agents managed to reunite the minor with his parents quickly thanks to the man’s help.
At this time, authorities continue to search for both the stolen vehicle and the suspect.
The stolen car is red with a Florida license plate AJ79FA. If you have information that helps clarify the case, you may contact the Holly Hill Police Department at 386-248-9475.