DENVER — A 2-year-old child that was missing in Denver after a man stole a running car with him inside has been found and is safe, said Denver Police Department (DPD).
The car was originally taken from the area of Leetsdale Drive and South Quebec Street and was last seen at 2:32 p.m, according to an Amber Alert sent out Saturday.
After a two-hour search, police said the child was found safe inside the car near Monaco and Exposition around 4:30 p.m. – the suspect was not in the stolen car, said police. According to DPD, the car was left running when it was abandoned.
"One of our big concerns is that the car would be abandoned and shut off and we would have this little guy strapped into a car seat in a hot car on a hot day," said Commander Matt Clark.
The child was sleeping in the back seat of the car and it was left running when it was taken from a store parking lot – the car was described as a black Borrego Kia with Colorado plate BELLZ92. Police said the parents were nearby.
"From what I gather, his mom was entering her car, was shoved out of the way and the man jumped into the car and took off with the car," said Kym Ray, the boy's cousin.
A large group of family members stayed at the crime scene where the Kia and boy were found.
"I couldn't wait to put my arms around him," said Clayton Jones, the boy's grandfather. "I mean, hell of fire couldn't keep me away from him."
DPD said the child taken to the hospital for evaluation.
According to the official alert, the man who kidnapped the child and stole the car is described as a man in his late 20s, early 30s, bald or shaved head – he's white or Hispanic and wearing a black hoodie and black shorts.
Police said to call 911 immediately with any information regarding this incident.
"It was a very stressful couple of hours and everybody was working diligently," said Commander Clark.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or visit metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers is notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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