OMAHA – A three-year-old girl is safe after being in the backseat of a stolen car on Monday afternoon.
Around 1 p.m. Monday, Omaha Police received a report of a stolen car near 72nd and Spring streets, according to First Alert 6.
According to OPD, the car’s owner informed police that their three-year-old daughter was in the backseat.
Police searched for the vehicle, but the driver escaped.
OPD informed First Alert 6 that numerous resources were invested in the case.
“It is the most serious call you can receive as a police officer, to hear a small child being involved in a crime that they had no idea was going to happen,” Sgt. Matt Chandler, of the OPD, said.
“So, there were multiple police officers that swarmed the area, we had undercover officers in unmarked cars, we had officers from every unit, we had officers from other jurisdictions that offered to help.”
The car was later discovered abandoned, with the girl still in the backseat, near a business on 60th and Spring.
Police told First Alert 6 that the suspect is still at large.
Sgt. Chandler stated that this is an opportunity for residents to be more cautious with their cars during the winter months.
“We would like to remind people never to leave your car running, especially in cold weather like this, because you can not predict when a crime will happen and it can happen so quickly, there is nothing you can do to stop it,” according to Sergeant Chandler.