CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Macomb County mother is holding her 4-year-old daughter tighter Monday after the little girl went missing for close to a half-hour when a man stole the minivan she was sitting inside, police said.
UPDATE: Man arrested, charged after minivan with 4-year-old inside stolen in Clinton Township
Brandy McPherson said her minivan was stolen from a driveway in Clinton Township while her daughter Brooklyn was in the backseat.
Police said when the carjacking suspect is caught, he will face theft charges and possible charges of kidnapping and child endangerment. Police said the man abandoned the girl while driving the stolen minivan.
"She was watching a movie in the van," McPherson said. "I was running in fast to grab my son."
The morning routine can become second nature for school parents. McPherson said her son spent the night at his grandmother's home, so she stopped to pick him up. Brooklyn stayed in the van.
"I heard a car reversing very fast and I was, like, 'Oh my God, please don't tell me it's my van,'" McPherson said. "I looked and I saw it in the road and I just took off running, screaming that my baby's in the car."
Police said the man likely knew there was a child in the backseat because of the movie. For close to 30 minutes, nobody knew where Brooklyn went.
"The fear of not knowing, is she OK?" McPherson said. "Is he hurting her? Is she safe?"
Officials said the man drove out of the neighborhood to 14 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue and left Brooklyn on the side of the road.
Residents saw her alone and called police. She was found in a restaurant parking lot, officials said.
"I just -- I fell to my knees and I thanked God," McPherson said. "It was the best thing I'd ever hurt."
Brooklyn is a little shaken, but she will be OK. Clinton Township police got her a brand-new backpack to replace the one that's still in the stolen minivan.
"You may think your neighborhood's safe like I thought this neighborhood was safe, but really, there is no safe neighborhood," McPherson said.
Police have recovered the red Town & Country minivan.