A father left his 1-year-old son inside a running car -- and when he came back, the car and the child were gone.

The car was stolen with the baby boy inside in the Brookland area of D.C. The thief abandoned the car about a mile away, with the child safe inside.

"We've got to find this baby," Officer Georgetta Johnson said she thought when she heard the little boy was missing. "This could be my child."

News4 was there in the moment the father reunited with his son. The child reached out to his father, who scooped him into his arms. The dad covered his face as if overcome by emotion.

The father went to run an errand at 18th and Monroe streets NE about 10:30 a.m. He headed to a business with his black Nissan and his son about a block away. When he exited, his car and his son were gone.

Police fanned out over the area, looking at every car they saw.

Finally, they saw the car parallel-parked and the child safe inside.

Johnson soothed him.

"I was holding him, comforting him. I gave him a little teddy bear," she said.

Fifth District Commander William Fitzgerald had strong words for the father, who declined to speak with News4.

"I'm very disappointed in the fact that the car was left running with a child in it," Fitzgerald said. "At no time should a parent ever leave a child unattended. It's just an inane decision to make by a parent."



D.C. police are searching surveillance cameras in the area for clues on who stole the car.