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California 4-year-old briefly abducted after being left in running car, police say

By KJ Hiramoto
Updated  February 14, 2024 6:58am MST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 11

Child abducted after being left in car

A child was briefly abducted in Long Beach after police say the 4-year-old was left in a running car.

LOS ANGELES - [NOTE: FOX 11 has redacted the victim's name now that the child has since been found safe.]

A 4-year-old at the center of an Amber Alert from Long Beach has been found safe.

At the time of his disappearance, the California Highway Patrol and the Long Beach Police Department issued public alerts saying the child was abducted on Tuesday, February 13 at around 5:30 p.m. PT.

According to FOX 11's crew at the scene, the child's dad does food deliveries and at one point left his Honda running with his son still inside. That was when a suspect got inside the car and took off with the 4-year-old still inside the car.

Witnesses help police find abducted boy

Officers are continuing to examine surveillance footage of the area in order to locate possible suspects.

About two hours later, the car and the boy were found in the 100 block of South Pine Avenue. Long Beach police said it was a pair of good Samaritans who found the car and called 911.

"We would like to thank them for this act of heroism in finding this young boy," the department said in a press release.

SkyFOX was over the scene around 8 p.m. near West Shoreline Drive and South Pine Avenue where police escorted the 4-year-old to an ambulance to check on the child.

The alleged kidnapper, however, wasn't there when police found the car. Police said they were able to use surveillance footage to track the driver down, and were able to arrest Timothy Wood, 34, near the intersection of Pine Avenue and Shoreline Drive. According to the police, Wood is experiencing homelessness. Officers booked him for kidnapping, child endangerment and stealing a vehicle. He's being held on $100,000 bail.