Crime & Safety
Baby Found Safe After Carjacking/Kidnapping; Kidnapper At Large
An 11-month-old boy named Leo was kidnapped during the carjacking in Van Nuys then later abandoned. Police are looking for his kidnapper.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A mother's nightmare ended Tuesday afternoon when her 11-month-old baby boy was found safe after being kidnapped during a carjacking in Van Nuys.
The woman who snatched him remains at large, and a manhunt is on to find her. Baby Leo was kidnapped at about 10 a.m. Tuesday in the 15400 block of Gault Street in Van Nuys when his mother left him in his carseat while running into a daycare to pick up a sibling, according to police.
Authorities launched a massive search, releasing the baby's picture and describing the sedan as a white 2001 Infiniti G-20, license number 4SDK433.
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About noon, an "alert citizen" spotted the car abandoned not far from where it had been stolen, and the child, whose name is Leo, was safe in the vehicle, said LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza.
Paramedics examined the child as a precaution, but he appeared to be OK, police said.
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The suspect, identified as Maria Elizabeth De La Torre, confessed over the phone to taking the vehicle and said she would turn herself in, but did not, and subsequent calls to her number went immediately into voicemail, police said.
De La Torre is known in the area and apparently stole the car in a "crime of opportunity" and may not have realized the boy was inside, police said.
The boy's mother said she does not know the woman.
De La Torre, whose image was released by police after she failed to turn herself in, is now wanted on suspicion of kidnapping and grand theft auto. A detective said a felony warrant would be issued for her arrest.
De La Torre frequents the area of Sepulveda Boulevard and Sherman Way, police said.
She is described as Hispanic, 5 feet tall, 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes and was wearing blue jeans and a pink shirt when last seen.
Anyone with information regarding De La Torre's whereabouts was urged to call the LAPD's Van Nuys Station at (818) 374-9500.
After-hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to (877) LAPD-24-7.
Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers by calling (800) 222-TIPS.
City News Service contributed to this report. Photos courtesy of the LAPD
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