Child taken in stolen car in West Philadelphia safe: police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 4-year-old boy is now in safe hands after he was abducted as part of a carjacking in West Philadelphia on Monday night. The Philadelphia Police Department says a manhunt is underway for the alleged carjacker.
The incident happened around 6:30 p.m. in the 5200 block of Chancellor Street.
The boy's father stopped at a restaurant where he delivers food and stocks shelves, police claim. He left his sleeping son in his car when a man jumped in the running car and sped off.
Investigators say they caught some lucky breaks.
"So we had information from the witness, we had information from the father," Chief Inspector Scott Small said. "We got a really good description plus the tag number of that vehicle. We broadcasted it every few minutes city-wide. We had our aviation unit, which is our helicopter, up in the air and we had police vehicles from every district in the city searching the area."
Soon thereafter, police found the 4-year-old boy unharmed in the abandoned vehicle in University City. He has been reunited with his father.
With the help of a witness, police have now turned their attention to the suspect who stole the car with the child inside.
"When the person who stole this vehicle jumped into the driver's seat of the vehicle, he was with a second person that witnesses detained," Small said, "and we have that second person who was able to provide us information as to who stole the vehicle."
Police are searching for the suspect.