HOUSTON — A thief stole a mother's running car with her child inside before later abandoning the little boy about a mile away, Houston police said Thursday morning.
The search is still underway for that stolen SUV and the thief.
The search for the child began around 9:20 a.m., according to officers with the Houston Police Department.
Police confirm the child's mother left her gray 2014 Toyota RAV4 running outside a Walgreens on Bellaire at Synott when she went into the store, leaving the little boy inside the vehicle. Someone jumped in the small SUV and sped away.
Police and a Texas DPS helicopter searched the Alief, Westchase and Mission Bend areas for the stolen car as police put out an alert asking the public to be on the lookout.
At about 10:16 a.m. police said the missing child was found in the 2100 block of Alief Clodine, apparently unharmed.
A woman and man said they heard a child's cries, and that's when they spotted the boy, age 3 or 4, walking into the roadway.
"He was scared. He was crying a lot. You could see he was lost," said Reyna Santos, whose parents found the boy.
They rescued the boy and started checking nearby homes to try and find his parents.
Just moments later, they heard a ringing and realized the little boy had his mother's cell phone. Police were calling and immediately came to get him. Shortly after, the boy and his mother were reunited.
"Gratefully they didn't take him; they dropped him off," Santos said.
The boy was taken to the hospital to get checked out and later released back to his mother.
Police haven't found the gray 2014 Toyota RAV4. If you have any information about the suspect, contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Original HPD tweet: "Our Westside officers and @TxDPSSoutheast helicopter are searching for a gray 2014 Toyota RAV4 with a 2-yr-old child inside. The vehicle was stolen outside a business at 13196 Bellaire Blvd at Synott Rd about 9:20 am. No other info at this time. #hounews"
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