Car Thief Returns After Finding Child In Vehicle: Montclair Police

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A car thief recently fled a vehicle after finding an 11-year-old child inside, but returned and stole it after the youth went inside a nearby store to tell his mother what happened, Montclair police said.

According to the Montclair Police Department, the Feb. 12 incident took place on Valley Road.

The victim told officers that she parked her 2019 BMW X4 in the lot at 146 Valley Road, and left her 11-year-old child in the car. Shortly afterwards, an unknown man entered the vehicle, but when he saw the juvenile inside, he immediately got out.

The child also got out of the car, then went into a nearby store to tell his mother what happened. When he left, the man re-entered the now-empty vehicle and fled west on Van Vleck Street, police said.

The vehicle was recovered unoccupied in Newark, authorities said.

Police described the suspect as a man from 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches, wearing a grey-hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head, and a light-blue “medical-type” mask covering the lower portion of his face.

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