A man was shocked to discover two babies abandoned in a ditch when he went outside to collect a package in front of his Indianapolis home.
Robert Deane had only walked a few steps outside the front door of his home when he noticed two car seats in a ditch. As he got closer to investigate, he found two baby girls who were kidnapped earlier on Monday morning while inside of a stolen vehicle.
The baby girls, a four-month-old and a five-month-old, had been reported missing at around 11am that morning after the 2013 Hyundai Sonata in which they had been in the backseat of was stolen.
“One of them was screaming, so I immediately grabbed the car seats, brought them inside. We got them warmed up and called 911,” Deane told CBS4.
By the time the babies were found, temperatures had reached below freezing on the south-east side of Indianapolis, located about four miles from where the vehicle they were inside was reported stolen. It’s unclear how long the girls were left out in the 27F (-3C) weather.
“It’s cold out here,” Indianapolis police spokesperson William Young told USA Today. “Who knows what could have happened if this particular individual was not able to come outside. It’s extremely cold, and we’re still in our early stages of trying to figure out who was responsible for this.”
IMPD is seeking the community’s help in locating the following vehicle that was stolen with a 4-month-old and 5-month-old child in the back.
The plate number on the vehicle is 364CMU. If you see this vehicle, please call 911 immediately.
Follow here for updates. pic.twitter.com/72Y1NAVMZm
— IMPD (@IMPDnews) December 2, 2024
Indianapolis metropolitan police were called that morning to the city’s south side responding to a report of a stolen 2013 Hyundai Sonata with four-month-old and five-month-old babies inside. Police received a call shortly after from a man who said he had found two infants in car seats outside his home.
Authorities have not yet provided details about how the vehicle was stolen or whether the babies were left unattended in the vehicle before the kidnapping.
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“He did what any good person would do,” Young said. “He got those infants to shelter. This is an outcome that we wanted.”
Police confirmed this afternoon that both babies were found and are safe. Authorities do not yet have a suspect in custody, but investigators are now examining the vehicle and are asking for any witnesses with information about the kidnapping to come forward.
