ATHENS, Ga. — A mother is now reunited with her 9-month-old son after her car was stolen with him inside.
An Amber Alert was activated early Saturday morning for the 9-month-old who was abducted Friday night around 11:30 p.m. while he was sitting in the car in the driveway of his home on Live Oak Drive in Athens.
"The mother as many mothers do had a sleeping baby in the car and has to run into the house," Athens-Clarke Police Lt. Shane Barnette. "In the course of running into the house, an unknown person jumped into the vehicle and drove off in the vehicle."
Authorities said the 9-month-old was inside a stolen white Nissan Altima and they began an extensive search of the area believing the infant was in extreme danger. After more than 12 hours of searching, they got a call from a man who said he had found the baby.
"The baby was crying and crying….I opened the door. It was crying and crying," Oliveria Rodriguez said.
The baby was found abandoned in the car in an empty lot next door to Rodriguez's home, just 4 miles away from where he was taken.
"The baby was sleeping and me pulling the door open scared him…crying," he said.
Rodriguez said he was glad he found the baby before it got too hot out.
The infant was not harmed, police said and he was brought to a hospital as a precautionary measure. Police said there are still no suspects at this time.