VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) – Surveillance cameras captured a suspected car thief who ditched a 2-year-old on the side of the street.
Police said the man stole a red Volkswagen Tiguan from the driveway on Thursday when the mother went to grab something from the house while the child was still sleeping in the backseat.
One simple decision led a Volusia County mother into a panic.
When she came back outside, her car and 2-year-old son were gone.
Half an hour later, a good Samaritan, Darrel Everman, found the boy sitting outside a body shop by himself and decided to approach him.
“You wanna come with me, buddy? come here, come here, it’s okay buddy,” said Everman.
He was driving around the neighborhood at that time.
“About 5-6 feet away from the road, and I didn’t see any parents around, so I thought I better stop and check on him,” said Everman.
Everman waited for a few minutes, but when he realized no one was coming for the child, he started asking those who were around him if they had any idea what was going on with this child.
“I act like nothing really major was going on and tried to find somebody who was responsible for him and figured out that the police needed to be involved,” said Everman.
Police said the suspect who hopped in the driver’s seat and dropped the child off at that body shop is between 15 and 20 years old.
“I am appreciative of the perp dropping a child off unharmed. That’s important to me, the child got where he needed to be,” said Everman.
The boy was unhurt and eventually returned to his family with the assistance of a few officers.
Police are still in search of the man who is responsible.
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