1-Year-Old Girl Found Safe After Amber Alert Issued for SUV Stolen in Pittsburg
PITTSBURG (KPIX) -- A child was found safe Thursday evening after authorities issued an Amber Alert for a stolen SUV in Pittsburg, triggering an intense search across the Bay Area for a 1-year-old girl and the vehicle.
The abduction took place around 5:45 p.m. and involved a 2007 Chevy Tahoe with black rims and a Mexico sticker on the rear window.
A Pittsburg resident found the SUV and the baby girl in a parking lot of an apartment complex and helped reunite her with her family.
"They were blocking the driveway and (the vehicle) was just sitting here and it was weird because they heard a baby scream. Screaming and crying and then they looked in there and flashed the light. The door was open and they got the baby out," said the complex property manager who gave her name as Liz.
Investigators say the child was left in a running car when the father stepped out to talk to another man at a business on Bliss Street. The two men were approached by a woman asking for a cigarette but then the woman got into the car and drove off with the child inside.
Officers scoured the streets until they got the tip that baby Mona was at the apartment complex.
Police, however, did not find the suspect and a K-9 was called in to help with the search.
Residents are just thankful the child was found.
"I have 12 kids so it hit me because it could be anybody's kid and thank God! The Amber Alert came and the baby was sitting here," Liz said.
Police have surveillance video from the scene and are working to identify a suspect, described as a female in her 30s with a tattoo on her face.