Grand Island police say 3 young children inadvertently kidnapped when their father’s SUV was stolen early yesterday morning were safely recovered and two teenage males taken into custody.
Police said the father reported the theft about 3:00 am and that his children – ages 5, 1, and 7 months – were in the vehicle. Police spotted the SUV a short time later, but were unable to stop it and broke off the chase for safety reasons.
Police believed the SUV was in rural Buffalo County and it was soon recovered at a rural location with 2 suspects arrested: 18-year old Tate Wolfe of Kearney and a 17-year old teenager from Hastings
The children were not in the SUV, but Grand Island police officers searching the area discovered another stolen vehicle, this one from Kearney, and found both the 5-year-old and 1-year-old inside – apparently put there by the teens.
The infant remained missing with a county-wide alert issued. A rural Hall County resident contacted authorities at 5:25 am to say the infant had been found abandoned on the porch of a farmhouse.
Police say all 3 children were taken to a hospital to be checked out for possible hypothermia and frostbite.
The 2 teens are being held in the Hall County Jail on suspicion of 3 counts of Kidnapping, 3 counts of Intentional Childs Abuse resulting in injury, Possession of Stolen Property, and Flight to Avoid Arrest with more charges possible