Sapulpa Police Find Pickup Reported Stolen With Baby In Back Seat

Sapulpa police have located a pickup that had been reported stolen with a baby in the back.

Saturday, March 23rd 2013, 2:39 pm

By: Dee Duren

Sapulpa Police Find Pickup Reported Stolen With Baby In Back Seat

Sapulpa police have found a pickup that had been reported stolen with an 8-month-old child in the vehicle. The child has been located and is fine, according to police.

Authorities say a 2004 white Ford extended cab pickup with Creek Nation plates was reported stolen from the 1200 block of East Bryan Street in Sapulpa shortly before 1:30 p.m. Less than 20 minutes after an Amber Alert went out, police recovered the truck at the Sapulpa Indian Health Center, 1125 East Cleveland Avenue.

News On 6 spoke with the family off camera, and they said the little girl is doing OK.

Now they're hoping police can catch whoever did this.

"We got lucky," Sapulpa police officer Mike Pullen said. "Just assuming the person noticed the child in the back seat and decided they better stop what they were doing."

It was a happy ending to a nightmare situation for a Sapulpa mother.

"She came over to ask if [someone] would watch the baby while she took her oldest kid to the baseball game," neighbor Jamie Reed said. "In just three minutes; it's just that quick."

Reed lives across the road from where the truck was taken.

She said when the mother realized her child was gone, she rushed over and asked for help.

"I cried," Reed said. "I can't image. I'm four months pregnant, and so I'm thinking this could happen to me."

Reed said she and other neighbors started canvassing the area, and shortly after, they were joined by police.

"We first started checking the scene, and then started driving the area anywhere close, hoping that the person who took the truck would dump it somewhere," Pullen said.

After recovering the truck -- less than a mile away -- police contacted the mother and reunited her with her lost little girl.

"She's very relieved that the baby's fine," Reed said.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was called into check the abandoned truck for evidence before it was towed to the police station.

"Stealing a vehicle is one thing, but stealing an 8-month-old child is way too much," Reed said.

The family said they think they know who took the truck. Police said they are questing a couple of individuals but haven't named a suspect yet.