BALTIMORE (WBAL/CNN) - When a thief stole a Baltimore mother’s car with her 1-year-old daughter strapped in the back seat, she sprang into action.
Instead of waiting for police to arrive, she mounted her own desperate search.
It was a happy reunion as the girl was taken into an ambulance in her grandmother’s arms, after a terrifying afternoon.
The girl’s mother, India, said it was a surreal experience. At around 12:30 p.m. Monday, India was helping a friend move some packages into her home. A man walked up to them. She thought he was going to ask to help. He wasn’t.
“When I turned around to take the stuff to the porch, I just heard screeching, and that was it,” she said.
In a panic, she called 911 and gave a description of her car. They told her to wait for police. Instead, overcome with fear and panic, she went out after him.
“Every minute counts that she’s gone. I don’t want to keep sitting here,” she said. “And even though they told me not to leave, I just - I’m glad that I go with my instinct and I’ll deal with whatever comes with me leaving later, but there’s no way I was ready to sit there and keep waiting, and thank God I didn’t.”
India, along with family members, searched alleys and parking lots near the scene. About an hour later, they drove into an apartment complex, and there was her car. Her daughter was in the back seat, safe.
“Her eyes were closed but her face was wet, so I can tell she probably cried herself to sleep,” the mom said. “She was still strapped in, so that was a good sign, and her jacket and everything - she was still, nothing was unzipped or anything like that.”
Police say the location where India found her daughter is a popular place for thieves to abandon stolen cars.
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