DETROIT (WJBK) - In the span of six hours, a baby went missing in a carjacked vehicle, was the subject of an Amber Alert, and then was found safe and sound on a nearby porch. Meanwhile, at least one of the suspects believed to be responsible is in custody.
Amber Alert issued late
Detroit Police say a procedural delay caused the Amber Alert to be issued late.
3-month-old Dakota Grimes was left in the backseat of a car that had been stolen around 1 a.m. Monday. Her 31-year-old father admitted he left the car running and unlocked when he ran into McConnel Drugs. When he came out, the car and his baby were gone.
"Well you know the area we got here, everybody knows it's kind of bad over here so why would you leave it running with your baby in there? I mean, that's your baby!" Nearby resident Sidney Jones said.
The frantic father called 911 and police started to search. The Amber Alert wasn't issued until 7 a.m.
Police admit there was a procedural delay in getting the Amber Alert issued but that the baby was found safe and sound.
Heroes of the day
Gary Zielinski and Ray Harper are the heroes of the day. Zielinski walked up to Harper's house on Lakepointe at 7:15 Monday morning and there she was: the three month-old was still in her pink and she was still in her carseat. Sitting and waiting on the porch.
"I almost stumbled over the baby I didn't even know the baby was there until I looked down," Zielinski said.
When Gary knocked on the door, he was like a baby was out there and I'm like stop playing," Harper said. "I went to the front door and there's a baby - I just snatched the baby up and told Gary to come on in."
He had no idea what was going on and said the little girl was sound asleep.
"She was asleep just as adorable as she could be but the blanket was just below her waist. I don't know how long she'd been sitting out there," Harper said.
He picked her up and held her close to warm her up. Only then did they turn on the news and their phones start to buzz with the Amber Alert, so they called 911.
Harper said the call went like this:
Detroit police arrived immediately to get the baby.
Car located, suspect arrested
Around 4 p.m. Monday, Detroit Police said they found the Impala that was stolen. Police the car was located near Kelly Rd and Woodcrest Monday afternoon and at least one suspect was arrested Monday afternoon.
Police said the car was running from police when they pulled it over. The suspect in custody, a 16-year-old female, was arrested but the driver is still on the run.
Detroit Police are searching for at least one other suspect involved with the carjacking and subsequent Amber Alert out of Detroit early Monday morning.
Police have not released the name of the suspect arrested or the other two suspects involved.