Missing boy in stolen pickup truck found safe, LAPD search for suspect

The Los Angeles Police Department continued to search for a suspect who stole a pickup truck with a child inside after the boy was found safe.

The car was stolen around 7 p.m. on Monday near the intersection of Bradley Avenue and Oswald Street in Sylmar after its owner left it running. A witness said the father left the keys in the ignition to pick up another set from someone nearby.

The suspect allegedly hopped into the driver seat and drove off, unaware that there was a 10-year-old kid in the back seat. He ditched the car in the nearby city of San Fernando at the intersection of 1st and Jessie Streets. 

Police later found the 10-year-old sitting in the backseat, but the suspect is still on the loose. 

The child described the suspect as a man in his 30s who was wearing a straw hat. 

Neighbors said the man rode a bike past several security cameras before ditching it to steal the pickup. Photos showed that there was a machete strapped to the suspect's bike. 

After watching the suspect jump into the running car, two Good Samaritans followed him for about two miles until he ditched the car at 1st and Jessie.