A man who went outside his home in Indianapolis to collect his belongings was shocked to find two babies abandoned in a ditch.
Robert Dean was just a few steps out his front door when he noticed two child seats in a ditch. As investigators approached, they found two girls who had been kidnapped in a stolen car early Monday morning.
The girls, ages 4 and 5 months old, were reported missing around 11 a.m. the same day after the 2013 Hyundai Sonata they were riding in was stolen.
“One of them was screaming and I immediately grabbed them by the car seat and pulled them into the car. We got them warmed up and called 911,” Dean told CBS4.
By the time the infant was found, temperatures were below freezing on the southeast side of Indianapolis, about four miles from where the infant’s vehicle was reported stolen. It’s unclear how long the girls were left out in the 27 degrees Fahrenheit (-3 degrees Celsius) weather.
“It’s cold out here,” Indianapolis Police Department spokesman William Young told USA Today. “Who knows what would have happened if this particular person hadn’t been able to get outside? It’s very cold, so we’re in the early stages of figuring out who caused this problem.”
IMPD is asking for the community’s help in locating a stolen vehicle with a 4-month-old and a 5-month-old child in the back.
The vehicle’s plate number is 364CMU. If you see this vehicle, please call 911 immediately.
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— IMPD (@IMPDnews) December 2, 2024
Earlier in the day, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was called to the city’s south side for a report of a stolen 2013 Hyundai Sonata carrying a 4-month-old and a 5-month-old infant. Shortly after, police were called by a man who said he found two young children sitting in car seats outside his home.
Authorities have not yet released details, including how the car was stolen and whether the infant was left inside the car before the kidnapping.
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“He did what any good person would do,” Young said. “He evacuated those infants, which is the outcome we wanted.”
Police confirmed this afternoon that both infants had been found and are safe. Authorities do not yet have a suspect in custody, but investigators are currently searching the vehicle and are asking any witnesses with information about the kidnapping to come forward.
