A 1-year-old was safely reunited with their mother Sunday night after a vehicle was stolen with the child still inside, according to the Owensboro Police Department.
Police said officers responded at approximately 9:45 p.m. to the 3300 block of West 2nd Street after a woman reported that her vehicle had been taken with her child still inside. The victim told officers that a passenger, identified as Damon Brown, drove away in the vehicle without permission while she was inside a store.
OPD said officers searched for the vehicle using the victim’s Find My iPhone app and FLOCK Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology. Police said the phone app was unable to provide a current location because of delayed updates, but an ALPR alert later detected the vehicle traveling on KY 144.
Officers then located the vehicle on East 4th Street, conducted a high-risk traffic stop, and took Brown into custody, according to OPD. The child was safely recovered and reunited with their mother.
The Owensboro Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division responded to investigate.
Brown was charged with theft by unlawful taking (auto), kidnapping (minor), first-degree fleeing or evading police, first-degree wanton endangerment, and operating a motor vehicle without a license.
