Car gets towed in Denver area with sleeping teenager inside

By Michael Abeyta

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    DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) — A 13-year-old boy is back safe with his family, but not before quite a scare for his mom. Police say he was sleeping in a car in Lakewood that ended up getting towed on Friday, and the Denver tow driver had no idea.

That resulted in a very tense scene when police responded to the hotel where it happened.

“When a call comes in like this? Obviously, everyone’s on high alert,” said John Romero, the Public Information Officer for the Lakewood Police Department.

In the morning the employees at the Baymont Inn & Suites off West 6th Avenue and Simms Street were surprised by a panicking guest.

“A woman went to front desk security and was yelling that something had happened to her child,” said Romero.

The woman didn’t speak English well, but they were able to deduce that her car had been stolen with her 13-year-old son in it. The hotel called Lakewood police.

“When our agents arrived, it became very apparent that a child, a male child, was taken, at some point,” said Romero.

The car had been a Hertz rental car at some point, so police were able to track it.

“As that vehicle moved into Denver, we also, caught up with Denver police, and they helped us in the search as well,” said Romero.

Eventually they found the car at an impound lot in Denver. It turns out the car had been repossessed and the missing child was still asleep in the back seat.

“The child did not wake up when the car was repossessed and actually did not wake up until our agents were knocking on the window, to wake him up at the tow yard where they eventually stopped,” said Romero.

The tow truck driver didn’t know the child was asleep in the car, only that it was a legitimate repossession from the parking lot of the hotel.

“It appears that the family was guests of the hotel when all this happened. Again, they were parked outside. They were doing some laundry in preparation to drive out to the East Coast when the vehicle was repossessed,” said Romero.

So, what seemed to be a terrifying situation, turned out to be an honest mistake.

“There will be no charges, for the family or the tow truck driver. It was a mistake. Obviously, the repo, is a matter between the family, and the company that they’re dealing with,” said Romero.

A Lakewood police agent did give that child a ride back here to be reunited with his family after they woke him up.

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