Police were searching Monday afternoon for a man who stole an SUV from a Little Rock gas station after a woman left her two children in the vehicle and the keys in the ignition that morning.
The children were later found unharmed and the vehicle was recovered, but authorities have not yet made an arrest.
Around 7 a.m., the 30-year-old woman drove a gray 2000 Ford Escape into the parking lot of an Exxon gas station at 7700 Scott Hamilton Road with her two kids, a 1-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy, Little Rock Police Department spokesman officer Michelle Hill said at a news conference.
The woman went inside the business to run a quick errand, Hill said, and she left the car running and the doors unlocked. She came outside moments later to discover “her worst nightmare happened” and the vehicle had been stolen with the children still inside, Hill said.
A witness at the scene told police he saw a man drive away in the vehicle south on Scott Hamilton Drive. The man then drove to a residence in the 8000 block of Autumnwood Road in Mabelvale, where he dropped the two children off unharmed roughly 30 minutes after leaving the gas station, Hill said.
Saline County deputies notified Little Rock police that the children had been found, and the woman's father drove to pick them up, officials said.
Police do not know why the assailant brought the kids to that residence, Hill said, adding they believe the location was chosen randomly.
The assailant was spotted by a police officer near the intersection of Autumnwood and Chicot Roads, but he ran and was not located, Hill said. The SUV was found by deputies nearby in a wooded area off Chicot Road. The vehicle will be processed for fingerprints and any other information that could lead police to the thief, Hill said.
Cold and wet weather conditions could compromise some of the available evidence, though recovered vehicles do often lead to arrests, Hill said.
The witness at the scene described the thief as either a white or light-skinned black male who stands 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs roughly 165 pounds, police said. He was reported as wearing black pants, a black cap and a hooded sweatshirt with camouflage print. The sweatshirt, baseball hat and several other items were left behind when he fled and were recovered by police, authorities said.
Police are still deciding what the assailant will be charged with when he is located, Hill said. She said the mother is not expected to face any charges.
“I’m sure she’s so grateful” for the outcome, Hill said, adding “we all make split second choices.”
Hill also said the incident could be a lesson for other Little Rock car owners, noting many vehicle thefts happen when the keys are left inside.
EARLIER:
Police are searching for a man who stole an SUV from a Little Rock gas station Monday morning and later dropped off two children who were inside the vehicle at the time at a residence in Saline County.
Little Rock police said a man wearing all black stole a silver Ford Escape from an Exxon gas station shortly after 7 a.m. at 7700 Scott Hamilton Road. A 1-year-old and a 6-year-old were inside the vehicle at the time, authorities said.
With the kids in the car, the thief fled on Baseline Road and ended up at a residence in Saline County, police said. He dropped the kids off at the home, where they were said to be unharmed, according to a post on the Little Rock Police Department Facebook page.
The vehicle was not at the residence, but it was located a short time in a wooded area off Chicot Road, authorities said, noting they were still searching for the thief.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
