MINNEAPOLIS — Brooklyn Park police say a missing 1-year-old boy has been found safe after he vanished in a stolen SUV Friday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Police say the child was found Friday night in Brooklyn Park and has been reunited with his mother.
Police said their early investigation showed the boy's mother left her vehicle running momentarily when an adult Black male weathering a black sweater took off with the car. The vehicle was stolen near the area of 12th Avenue and Lake Street E. around 3:30 p.m., according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
KARE 11 reporter Danny Spewak reported early Friday evening that the stolen vehicle, a White Buick Enclave, was located unoccupied at 37th Avenue and East Lake Street shortly before the boy was found.
Minneapolis Police used a K-9 to help search the area, and the FBI assisted to knock on doors and canvass the neighborhood for information.
A city-funded group of violence interrupters — peace activists involved in a program known as "Minneapol-US" — also hit the streets of south Minneapolis immediately after hearing the news of the AMBER Alert late Friday afternoon. Team leader Muhammad Abdul-Ahad said his group was holding a routine debriefing when the alerts came across their phones.
Shortly after they began their search in the area of Lake Street, they learned the boy had been found safe.
"We did get a victory with this baby being brought back home," Abdul-Ahad said. "Little bit of good news tonight. We wish it could be more good news than bad. That’s why we are out here each and every day doing what we are doing.”
Law enforcement is still working to identify the suspect.
Abdul-Ahad shared this message for whomever was responsible:
"These things are just unthinkable. Just, show some remorse for human life. Come on. Stop and think," Abdul-Ahad said. "That’s the message."