Thief Steals Car With 11-Year-Old Inside From Bergen Bank: Police

TENAFLY, NJ —A car thief drove off from a Bergen County bank with an 11-year-old boy in the back seat on Sunday morning, police in Tenafly said.

The boy was reunited safely with his father and police are still searching for suspects, according to a press release sent by Tenafly PD Captain Michael deMoncada.

On Sunday morning, deMoncada said police in Englewood had alerted Tenafly officers about a dark blue or black BMW SUV "that was suspected of being involved in several attempted car thefts within the City of Englewood."

Tenafly Police began looking for the SUV on the south side of the borough, deMoncada said.

That morning, at 10:45 and 10:53, two people called 911 to report an attempted car theft. Both callers said they saw a dark-colored SUV.

"In both of these incidents, just minutes apart, the vehicles were locked and the suspect fled empty-handed," deMoncada wrote. "Based upon security video footage from these incidents, the suspect is described as a black male, wearing light-colored blue sneakers, black sweatpants, a black hooded sweatshirt, black gloves and a blue surgical mask. Officers were also able to confirm that the suspect vehicle was a dark blue or black BMW X3 or X5 SUV with possible New York license plates, but were unable to identify the license plate or any other occupants within that vehicle."

At 11:06 a.m., police got another call from a man who said his car had been stolen with his 11-year-old in the back seat, according to deMoncada.

The boy's father left his Audi running while he went in the Chase Bank on County Road to use the ATM, deMoncada said. A male suspect opened the door and got in, reversing the car out of the parking spot, police said.

The father rushed out and grabbed the driver's side door handle but was knocked to the ground and hurt his hand, police said. The father continued to run after his car while another driver, who saw what happened, followed the stolen Audi, deMoncada said.

"The stolen Audi fled west on Central Avenue and stopped abruptly near the intersection of West Railroad Avenue, apparently when the thief realized that the child was in the back seat," deMoncada wrote in the press release.

"The suspect exited the stolen Audi and quickly jumped into the same BMW SUV which was apparently following behind. The child was unharmed and was reunited with his father who had been chasing on foot. It was at this point that the victim called 9-1-1."

DeMoncada said police are in contact with other law enforcement to search for the SUV.

He also reminded residents to be vigilant amid an increased number of attempted and successful car thefts in the region.

"In fact, we are proud of the partnership with have with the community and it seems that the majority of people are heeding our warnings to keep their parked vehicles locked," deMoncada said. "Unfortunately, it seems the criminal element is changing their tactics by targeting unattended vehicles left running outside of businesses.

"In this morning’s incident, we are fortunate that the thief was smart enough to safely stop the car and flee the area once he realized there was an innocent child in the car. However that does not make this incident any less traumatic for the victims or less serious for responding officers."

Police in New Jersey can only pursue a car if the officer thinks a person inside has committed a major crime, such as murder, vehicular homicide or kidnapping. This policy went into effect late last year.

"We want the public to know that despite recent legislation prohibiting New Jersey law enforcement officers from pursuing stolen vehicles and criminal justice reform policies that often release these types of offenders within hours of being caught, our officers are dedicated to doing everything within our legal authority to catch these criminals and see they are brought to justice," deMoncada said.

Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call the Tenafly PD Detective Bureau at (201) 568-5100.