KENTWOOD, Mich. — Thanks to two quick-thinking school bus drivers a missing Michigan toddler was reunited with its parents about 10 minutes after the family car was stolen with the child inside.
According to police in Kentwood, Michigan, the incident began the morning of Oct. 4 when an unidentified suspect hopped into a car left running by two parents standing feet away and waiting to put an older child on an approaching school bus, WXMI reported.
Video from Kelloggsville Public Schools, obtained by both WXMI and WLS-TV, shows the parents flagging down Dave Skinner, a Kelloggsville school bus driver.
Skinner told WXMI that the parents were frantic and asked him to call 911, which he quickly did, noting that the decision to spring into action was a “judgment call.”
“When you get close enough you can see the look in mom and dad’s eyes. You knew something was wrong,” said Skinner, who called police and radioed his fellow bus drivers about the situation.
According to the TV station, driver Sue Figueroa heard Skinner’s plea and believed that she had just driven past the missing 2-year-old. She promptly turned her bus around to retrieve the child, whom she found sitting on a driveway.
The video clearly shows Figueroa get off the bus, pick up the toddler and then drive back to the parents for a tearful reunion, WLS reported.
According to Kelloggsville Public Schools, roughly 10 minutes passed between when the car was stolen and the reunion, and investigators believe that the carjacking was random, WXMI reported.
Meanwhile, police confirmed to the TV station that the family’s stolen car was later located in Grand Rapids, but no suspects have been arrested.
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