Car stolen with mom and baby sleeping inside, Vancouver police say

Vancouver -

Police are investigating after someone allegedly stole a car from Vancouver's Chinatown neighbourhood while a mother and baby were napping inside.

The incident happened Friday afternoon near Keefer and Abbott streets. Authorities said a man parked his car to stop at a nearby grocery store, and left his wife and child asleep in the vehicle.

A suspect then apparently opened an unlocked door, got into the car and drove away.

"For a suspect to steal a car while it was occupied with people is exceptionally bold," Const. Tania Visintin said in a news release. "Thankfully, the woman and her child were physically uninjured and none of their belongings were taken."

The car thief managed to drive to Science World before the woman woke up. Police said the suspect then got out of the vehicle and fled.

"The woman last saw the suspect near Quebec Street and National Avenue," Visintin said. "We need anyone with information, or anyone who knows this suspect, to call us immediately."

The alleged car thief was described as a white man around 25 to 35 years old. He was wearing a black three-quarter length winter coat with yellow trim and a black and yellow logo on the back, black pants, brown shoes, and a black hat with a red brim.

On Tuesday morning, a similar incident was reported in Surrey's Cloverdale area, where someone stole a vehicle that was left running in a residential driveway with a baby inside.

The vehicle was found abandoned less than an hour later with the baby safe inside. There's no indication the two incidents, both of which remain under investigation, are linked.