UPDATE: Police continue to seek car stolen from mother, DoorDash driver while she picked up order

DAYTON — UPDATE @ 1:55 p.m. (Nov. 18):

Dayton police have released a surveillance photo and are asking for the public’s help locating the car stolen from a DoorDash driver while she picked up an order at a convenience store, while her son was still in the vehicle.

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Police are still looking for the red, 2021 Hyundai Kona with Florida license plate GHLH37 that was stolen from DashMart on Watervliet Avenue late Monday night.

If you spot the vehicle, or have information about what happened, you’re asked to call Dayton police at 937-333-2677 or Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-7867.

While the woman went inside the store to pick up the order, the car thief jumped into the driver’s seat and drove off, while the woman’s 11-year-old son was still inside the car.

The boy was later located safe on Shroyer Road near Carmel’s Bar and Grill after the car thief stopped and dropped him off. The car and suspect have not been located.

Speaking with News Center 7 Wednesday, Dayton police said reports of car thefts tend to climb this time of the year due in part to cold temperatures. Additionally, the use of personal delivery services has also caused an increase in reports.

“With the large influx of delivery services like DoorDash, Uber Eats, other independent package delivery services, we’re starting to see people will come up to make a delivery and they think ‘hey its just a neighborhood I’m just gonna leave my car running, I’ll go up to the house real quick and make this delivery.’”

“Again it only takes a moment for someone to be in that neighborhood, see that car running, they can jump in it and they’re gone,” Dayton police Traffic Services Supervisor Sgt. Gordon Cairns said.

We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

FIRST REPORT (Nov. 16):

Police safely located a child minutes after the car he was in was stolen while his mother picked up an order at a Dayton convenience store late Monday night.

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Officers were called around 11:05 p.m. to the DashMart in the 600 block of Watervliet Avenue after an employee at the business reported the car was stolen.

“She came in to pick up an order and she turned around and the car was gone. And her son is in the car,” an employee at the business told dispatchers in a 911 call, obtained by News Center 7.

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Dispatch records indicate the woman was a “DoorDasher” and was picking up an order at the store. But when she went back outside she noticed the car, a red Hyundai SUV, was gone and her 11-year-old son was still inside.

“They took my car! They stole my car! All my stuff is in there! My son is in the car!” the mother said in the 911 call.

Witnesses reported last seeing the vehicle heading towards Wayne Avenue. Minutes later, police responded to Carmel’s Bar Grill on Shroyer Road in Dayton after the child was dropped off in front of the restaurant.

Police scanner traffic indicates the car thief stopped on Shroyer Road and told the child to get out, then drove off. Police reported taking the child back to his mother on Watervliet Avenue minutes later.

It was not known if the car was recovered or if police had any suspects. A Dayton police incident report does not list any arrests.

“The safety of our community is our top priority, and we are incredibly relieved that the Dasher and her family are safe,” a DoorDash spokesperson said in an emailed statement to News Center 7′s Mike Campbell.

“We are in touch with the Dasher to provide our support and will assist law enforcement with their investigation in every way we can.”

This is a developing story and we’ll update this page as we learn new details.

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