A car thief drove at least 12 miles with a baby in the back of an SUV that was swiped from a WaWa in Chesapeake early Wednesday morning.
Just before 6:30 a.m., the infant’s mother reported her gray Hyundai Tuscon stolen — and the baby gone — from the gas station after she left it running and unsecured, police said.
She entered the store just for a minute, and that’s when the “crime of opportunity” took place, said Chesapeake police spokesman Leo Kosinski.
The thief took off and headed toward Norfolk. But he didn’t hold on to the baby for long. He left the infant, Vanessa Varrios-Dasilva, in her car seat near some steps at an apartment complex off Little Creek Road.
About 20 minutes later, someone saw the baby, knew something wasn’t right, and called police. But Chesapeake police didn’t find out right away and requested an Amber Alert from state police. Meanwhile, Norfolk police were trying to figure out if the baby found at the apartment complex was the same one reported missing in the Amber Alert.
Once baby Vanessa was found, she was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure. Wednesday morning was freezing, with the high temperature not getting out of the low 40s.
Meanwhile, the thief took off with the SUV after unloading the baby. Norfolk police found the vehicle a few hours later — about 2 miles from where the baby was found — on Timothy Avenue in Wards Corner.
No one has been charged and the thief is at large. Detectives are hoping to pick up clues from the recovered SUV.
No charges are being filed against the mother, Kosinski said.
Robyn Sidersky, 757-222-5117, robyn.sidersky@pilotonline.com
