Carjacker's Target Had a Sleeping Occupant

As his mother brought groceries from her SUV into her hotel room in Sunnyvale, Calif., early Sunday, Jacob Jardine remained in the parked vehicle, asleep. His mother returned to find it had been stolen, with the 2-year-old still inside, the Press Democrat reports. By 6pm Sunday, the SUV had been found with the toddler inside, alive and apparently unharmed, ABC 7 reports. A few hours later, a 29-year-old Bay Area woman was arrested on suspicion of the crime.

Luong Tammy Huynh allegedly told police that when she drove away with the car, she had no idea the boy was inside until after she pulled over to a parking lot to take a nap. She ultimately left the car in the lot, about four miles from where it had been taken, with the boy still inside—where he remained for 13 to 14 hours, police say. There is no indication she knew the child or his mother.

"According to her, she was only trying to steal a vehicle," Sunnyvale Dept. of Public Safety Captain Craig Anderson says. "But, we have a lot of suspicions about if that's the case, why wouldn't she leave an anonymous tip about where the vehicle's at and where the child's at." She is jailed on suspicion of charges including kidnapping, child endangerment, and vehicle theft. The boy has been reunited with his family. (More California stories.)