Police found the car abandoned some hours later, but without the toddler inside. Volunteers launched a frantic search as it got dark and cold temperatures dropped even further.

Finally, at 1 a.m., Officer Chris Poccia spotted a bundle of purple sitting in a parking lot.

Video taken from a dash camera showed the officer jumping out of the car and scooping Caraline up. She was, thankfully, unharmed.

"You could tell she was just really scared and really cold," Poccia told the Associated Press.

The search for the thief is still on, with police circulating security camera footage of the car dropping the toddler off in the grocery store parking lot before abandoning the vehicle several miles away.

Mobile users see video here.

About the Author

Featured

“Our members cannot be bought off,” General President Sean O’Brien said in a social media statement, calling UPS' offers “illegal and haphazard.” (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2023)

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC