Suspect in custody after stealing minivan with children inside
(Hoquiam Police Department)
HOQUIAM, Wash. - Hoquiam police took a suspect into custody after they say he stole a minivan with children inside Monday morning.
Before 8:45 a.m., officers responded to a report of a minivan with two children inside was stolen from a home on Pacific Avenue.
A mother had stopped at a friend's home to drop off some paperwork, kept the van running to keep the air conditioning going. Police said the children were sleeping and the mother didn't want to wake them up.
As the woman was inside her friend's home, a person got in the van and drove away.
Two witnesses saw the van at a convenience store on Boone Street in Aberdeen and called 911 immediately. The two children were still inside the van and they were not hurt.
According to police, the suspect was standing near the van and ran away as officers arrived at the scene.
Officers chased the suspect and he was taken into custody.
Police said the suspect, 34, was booked at the Hoquiam City Jail and charges of kidnapping and theft of a motor vehicle will be forwarded to the Grays Harbor County Prosecutor.