Baby Left In Stolen Car Found

An east El Paso car thief ended up with a baby on board early Friday morning.

Police said it all began when Laura Gonzalez left her car running just after 5 a.m. Friday outside her home at the Shadow Ridge Apartments on 9375 Viscount Blvd.

Gonzalez told police she went back inside her home to grab something, but when she came back outside just moments later, it was a mother’s worst nightmare.

The car was gone, and so was her baby.

Luckily for the mother, it was less than 15 minutes before police received a call that someone had left a baby still in his car seat in the parking lot of the Mediterranean Apartments, only a half mile away from Gonzalez apartment.

Police quickly reunited Gonzalez with her son.

The stolen car, a 2007 blue Toyota Matrix, is still missing.

Neighbors at the Mediterranean Apartment complex said they questioned the mother’s actions.

“It’s interesting how you would leave a kid, a baby, and then go inside your apartment. That’s too dangerous for me. I got my children myself. No, I wouldn’t do that,” said neighbor Carlos Marquez.

ABC-7 spoke with Child Protective Services to see if the mother was under investigation for the incident.

Officials there would not confirm or deny a case, but they said it is illegal in the state of Texas to leave a child under the age of 7 in a car for more than five minutes.

Police are still looking for the man who stole the car.

If you have any information on the incident, call police at 915-832-4400.