Teens take woman’s idling car — and her 9-month-old baby — for joyride, NC cops say

A baby was kidnapped and taken on a joyride over the weekend in North Carolina when two teens jumped into an idling vehicle and raced away, according to the High Point Police Department.

The 9-month-old was strapped in a child safety seat and awaiting the return of its mother when the vehicle was taken, police said in a news release.

Deputies said they recovered the child unharmed after the two teens abandoned the vehicle.

The incident happened around 12:40 p.m. Sunday, March 13, at the Brentwood Crossing apartments in High Point, police said.

“Brittany Jacobs was letting her car warm up ... and had to step back inside her apartment,” police said. “In the time it took for her to run inside, her vehicle was stolen from the parking lot directly outside her apartment.”

Multiple officers joined a search for the kidnapped baby, police said, and “quickly located” the vehicle with only the child left inside.

Investigators did not say where the vehicle was discovered. However, two “male juveniles” — one age 16 and one age 14 — were found “a few blocks away with the keys to the stolen car still in hand,” police said.

The teens were arrested and taken to a juvenile detention facility in Greensboro, and charged with second degree kidnapping and motor vehicle theft,” officials said. (A press release said three teens were taken into custody, but only two were charged, police told McClatchy News.)

Details of charges against the third teen were not released.

“Due to the ages of the suspects, no further information regarding their identity will be released,” police said.

This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Teens take woman’s idling car — and her 9-month-old baby — for joyride, NC cops say."