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Watch: BWC shows Texas police rescue kidnapped baby abandoned by suspect

The infant was crying when officers found the car seat, rushing to pick him up. “It’s OK, it’s OK,” one of the officers who found the child said in the BWC video

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A baby who was kidnapped when his mom’s car was stolen in Fort Worth on Monday night was found in a car seat in a nearby ravine.

Fort Worth Police Department

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=913596273063320

By James Hartley, Nicole Lopez
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

FORT WORTH, Texas — A baby who was kidnapped when his mom’s car was stolen in Fort Worth on Monday night was found in a car seat in a nearby ravine, a police bodycam video shows.

The infant was crying when officers found the car seat, rushing to pick him up. “It’s OK, it’s OK,” one of the two officers who found the child said in the video released by police Wednesday. The other officer announced over his radio that they’d found the baby and that he appeared to be OK.

Officers responded around 7 p.m. to reports of a kidnapping in the 3300 block of North Pecan Street, in the Diamond Hill neighborhood of north Fort Worth. The mother called and told dispatchers a man had jumped into her car and taken off with her 6-month-old baby boy still in the car, according to police.

The search for the car was immediately bolstered with officers from other divisions including narcotics, gang, and direct response units, according to police. It took them an hour and 20 minutes to find the car on Deen Street — about a mile and a half away from the home of the caller — but the baby wasn’t there.

About 30 to 40 officers were involved in the search.

“We got really worried,” said Sgt. Ronnie Chau — one of the officers who rescued the baby — when police discovered the child was not in the car. “At that moment, it’s just pure emotion.” Chau spoke to reporters in a press conference Wednesday.

Chau said he and the other officers involved were lucky to find the baby because it was getting dark during their search.

A suspect was taken into custody when police found the car and officers questioned him while they continued searching the area.

According to police, officers had the suspect direct them to where the baby was.

It took about five minutes for them to find the baby in a ravine located off a dead end in a residential area. The ravine was about half a mile away from where the car was located, according to Chau.

“I was just delighted,” said Chau at the press conference when recalling how he felt when locating the baby. “I remember losing my child at grocery store for like less than 30 seconds and I was freaking out myself. And I can’t imagine a parent losing for an hour and 20 minutes not knowing where the baby is.”

The baby was reunited with his family, apparently unharmed. MedStar also examined the baby when he was rescued.

When the baby when was returned to the mother, “She was very happy. She was crying the whole time. Happiness,” Chau said.

According to a police report, 25-year-old Elliot Cain Reyes is facing charges of kidnapping, abandonment or endangerment of a child, and auto theft. He was also wanted on an out-of-town warrant. Reyes remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Wednesday with bond set at $68,000.

“It just reminds us that it can happen to you and you just got to watch your back watch, watch behind you,” said Chau. “I’m definitely proud of the officers that were involved in this. It’s just a matter of teamwork.”

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