New today: Tips lead Troy police to search for suspect who stole car with child inside

TROY — UPDATE @ 10:15 a.m.: 

Troy police searched areas on South Dorset Road Thursday morning after receiving tips the suspect who stole a car with child inside Wednesday might be in that area, investigators said.

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However, officers said they did not locate the suspect during their search.

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Multiple reports to this newsroom indicate officers were investigating in the area of the Motel 6 on South Dorset Road around 9 a.m. Thursday.

Additional details about the case and investigation were not released.

We’ll update this story as new details become available.

Car, child taken at Troy gas station Car, child taken at Troy gas station

FIRST REPORT

A 2-year-old boy was found safe in an abandoned vehicle this morning, shortly after a mother reported the car stolen from a BP station on Archer Drive near Interstate 75.

“My wife went out to start her car. There’s a car in my driveway with a baby in it, and her car is gone,” a man told 911 dispatchers. “And the baby’s crying”

The mom went into the store to pay for gas at the BP station around 6:30 a.m., officials said. While she was inside, someone stole the car. It’s unknown whether the thief knew there was a child inside.

"Someone just stole my car with my son in it," the boy’s mother told dispatchers while breaking down in tears. “I parked right outside the door. I ran in to get cigarettes and then my car was gone."

Troy police say leaving vehicles running and unattended is something they see often.

“We see it all the time in gas stations and coffee shops where people leave their car running because they are just going to run in for a minute,” said Troy police Capt. Shawn McKinney. “Don’t leave your car running without locking it and definitely don’t leave your child in there.”

The vehicle and the child, which initial reports indicated was around 2, were found in the driveway of a home in the 6800 block Peters Road near Tipp City.

The man told dispatchers his wife’s 2012 white Honda Accord was stolen from the driveway.

“Well we’ve got the child and we’ve got the car,” he said. “Now they’re in the white Honda Accord.”

The caller said tracks left in the yard indicated the vehicle would have gone south on Peters.

The child found in the vehicle was unharmed.

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