CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Police said a man stole a mother's minivan in Clinton Township while her 4-year-old daughter was inside.
UPDATE: Man arrested, charged after minivan with 4-year-old inside stolen in Clinton Township
The suspected carjacker dropped the girl off shortly after the incident, but police are still searching for the man.
UPDATE: 4-year-old girl found safe after being inside stolen minivan in Clinton Township
Officials said the woman was picking up her son at her grandmother's house around 7:30 a.m. Monday.
When she went inside the home, her daughter, Brooklyn, was inside the running minivan watching a movie in the driveway, police said. That's when a man on a bicycle rolled up, jumped in the minivan and drove away, according to officials.
Police said the man essentially kicked the child out of the Town & Country minivan and abandoned her at 14 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue.
"I will never, ever leave them in the car," mother Brandy McPherson said. "Whether it's raining, snowing, whatever the weather, they're coming with me."
McPherson said the fear and anguish she felt Monday was the worst thing any parent can go through.
"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."
Whoever stole the minivan likely knew there was a child in the back for close to half an hour, officials said. Nobody knew where the minivan or Brooklyn went.
"The fear of not knowing, is she OK?" McPherson said. "Is he hurting her? Is she safe?"
When the man abandoned Brooklyn, several people saw her and called police, according to officials.
"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'll be OK. McPherson said the incident changed how she thinks about the area.
"You may think your neighborhood's safe like I thought this neighborhood was safe, but really, there is no safe neighborhood," McPherson said.