Do not adjust your screens, that headline you just read is not a joke. On Saturday morning, a thief stole a Honda Pilot in Beaverton, Oregon. When the thief discovered a four-year-old child inside the car, he turned around to both return the child and berate the mother.
Crystal Leary pulled her 2013 Honda Pilot up to a Basics Meat Market in Beaverton, Oregon, around 9 a.m. Saturday morning reports Oregon Live. She parked in front and left the engine running with her son inside as she went inside to pick up milk and some meat. She was only going to be gone for a few minutes and the car was only 4.57 m away.
A thief managed to take advantage of her short time away. He hopped into the running vehicle and drove off. His clean getaway was only interrupted by discovering the woman’s child strapped in the back. The thief turned around in a nearby parking lot and delivered the kid back to Leary, but not before berating her for leaving the kid in the car. In a strange twist, the person stealing her car threatened to call the police on her. And no, he didn’t return the car. He drove off again after Leary got her kid back.
Officer Matt Henderson, a Beaverton police spokesman, says what she did is not a crime. Via Oregon Live:
What she did was not a crime. She was within sight and sound of her child.
But she left the car running, so take that extra step, take the keys with you. It’s a good reminder to take extra precaution when we have our little ones with us.
I agree. If you’re doing a quick run and you can see your car and kid, I don’t think it’s a big deal. But take the keys with you or if you need to run the engine, have a second set of keys so the doors can be locked.
The boy wasn’t harmed and Leary learned a lesson, from WTOC:
As mums, we get really busy, and we think we’re just running in for a second. This is just a perfect example of letting our guards down and how terribly it could have ended.
So, I’m just thankful that he’s OK. It was so stupid, and I’ll never do that again. But it’s that split second decision that could just change everything.
The part that gets me about this story is the car thief scolded her and threatened to call the cops. It’s a really weird flex to try to take the high ground in a situation like this. After all, he still stole a car from a mother.
Police are looking for the suspect and silver 2013 Honda Pilot with Oregon plates 357GLV. The thief is described as being a white man in his 20s or 30s with dark brown, braided hair.