The gas station is located across the street from the Boynton Beach Police Department, according to CBS 12. The alleged thief arrived at the station in a white SUV with another person and got into the victim’s vehicle. It’s unclear where the driver of the stolen car was at the time. The suspect drove off and subsequently stopped at a Residence Inn in Boca Raton, “where he left the child and hastily departed the scene.”
The hotel manager told CBS 12 that the suspect handed the boy to a hotel guest and left the site. Police later recovered the vehicle at the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, but the thief remains at large. Police released a photograph of the suspect, a man with a beard who was wearing a dark-colored shirt, shorts and sneakers at the time of the theft. The department is asking the public for information and help identifying the suspect, who faces charges of theft of a motor vehicle and kidnapping. Additional charges could also be filed.