Car Stolen With Baby Inside; Mom Charged With Endangerment

CICERO, IL — A northwest Indiana woman is charged with child endangerment after police say she left her baby in a running vehicle while she ran to grab a pizza — and the vehicle was stolen by a car thief. Cicero police say Tania Madrigal, 30, had left her Jeep Cherokee running outside of Al's Pizzeria & Restaurant, 6050 W. Cermak Road, just after 4 p.m. Monday when a suspect jumped into the vehicle and drove away. Inside the stolen Jeep was Madrigal's 1-year-old son, who was found unharmed a short time later after the thief ditched the vehicle in a nearby alley.

On Tuesday, police released a surveillance photo of the suspect, described as a Hispanic man in his early to mid-40s, 5-foot-7, weighing about 140 pounds and wearing a red shirt and blue jeans.

A neighbor heard the baby crying loudly after the car thief, apparently realizing the child was in the vehicle, abandoned the Jeep, Cicero officials told NBC Chicago. Meanwhile, Madrigal, of East Chicago, is charged with one felony count of endangering the life or health of a child.

Anyone with information on the suspected carjacker is asked to contact the Cicero Police Department Detective Division at (708) 652-2130.

Image via Shutterstock