An SUV that was reported stolen with an infant inside in Alabama may have instead rolled into thick brush where it lay hidden, AL.com reported Tuesday.
Officers found the SUV in vines Tuesday morning, roughly 100 yards (90 meters) from where it was reported stolen about 12 hours earlier, Parrish police Chief Danny Woodard told the news site. The girl, 9-month-old Harlow Darby Freeman, was safe in her car seat.
Investigators now say it’s likely the car was not stolen and Harlow was not kidnapped. Instead, the SUV may have rolled down an embankment when the driver failed to put it in park, Woodard said. He said police were still investigating and planned to conduct more interviews.
“This is not something that happens in a small town like Parrish,’’ he said. “This is a strange turn of events.”
Parrish is about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Birmingham. Dozens of officers began searching for Harlow late Monday after her family reported the SUV stolen outside a house. The girl’s father left her in the vehicle while he ran into a friend’s house, police said.
Multiple searches of the area did not turn up the vehicle until the next morning.
One of the SUV’s windows was broken, providing the girl with ventilation overnight, Woodard told AL.com. She was found dehydrated but otherwise in good condition.