NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A little boy’s bizarre journey to school Wednesday morning could lead to kidnapping and grand larceny charges against two men, if police can track them down.
The boy’s mother told police she left her 8-year-old son in the car while she went into work at the post office on 20th Street in Ghent. When she came back out to take him to school, the car was gone, and so was her son.
Within about 15 minutes, police tracked down both the car and the boy.
“We found the child at school, unharmed, sitting in the classroom with a smile on his face,” said Officer Daniel Hudson, a spokesperson for the Norfolk Police Department.
The boy told officers he was a little scared during the ride, but otherwise unhurt.
“The two guys got into the car, saw that he was in the car, and turned around and said ‘Oh, we’re here to take you to school, where do you go to school?’ He said Ghent Elementary, and they took off to Ghent Elementary.”
Because the woman had left her cell phone in the car, she was able to track it using the Find My iPhone app. Police found it about three miles away on Silbert Road, but the suspects were gone.
Investigators spent the day reviewing surveillance footage from the post office, processing the car for evidence, and canvassing neighborhoods, but as of Monday evening, Hudson said they had developed leads, but still had not identified any suspects.
Although it’s legal to leave a car running in a parking lot, and also legal to leave a child alone, Hudson said police could file charges against the boy’s mother.
“The investigators are still trying to determine if there was any type of danger to the child while the keys were inside the vehicle, running,” he said. “They don’t want to jump to conclusions, they want to talk with her, figure things out.”
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Alright, so I’m not about to give these guys the keys to the city but big props to them for dropping the kid off at his school!
We are forever hearing stories like this that turn out really bad but these two guys are pretty amazing. Let’s think about it. They NEEDED a car (bad enough to steal one), who knows maybe the bus was running late and they needed to get to church. So what should they do? Call Uber? Perhaps! But also perhaps, their phone was dead. So then by the grace of God they SEE a car with the keys in it AND it’s running. What would you do? (Don’t answer that question)
Anyway, they dropped the kid off at school!!! These are pretty responsible car thieves if you ask me. Slap on the wrist at best.
Instead of prison, these guys should be sentenced to drive the school bus for a couple of years. They’re batting 100% thus far!
No harm not foul and they got the kid there to make homeroom!
PS – Don’t charge the mom. She’s doing her best!
