EVAN MONTGOMERY - 17 Months - Houston TX

An Amber Alert has been issued for a 17-month-old boy who was in an SUV stolen tonight at a southwest Houston Walmart, officials said.

Evan Montgomery was in a car seat in the backseat of a 1996 Jeep Cherokee stolen about 5:44 p.m. from the store at South Gessner at West Bellfort, Houston Police said.

Police said the toddler's mother parked the SUV at the store and went inside to get cash from an ATM. She left the keys in the ignition and the engine running. Evan and an older cousin, a believed to be a 7-year-old girl, stayed in the Cherokee.

A man dressed in black jumped into the SUV, police said. The girl escaped.

"She managed to flee, that's when the suspect drove off," said HPD spokesman Kese Smith.

Allette Williams, who described herself as the family's attorney, said the man got inside the SUV and briefly talked to the girl.

"The young girl actually got out and screamed. He drove off with the child in the car," Williams said.

Williams said she had no idea if the man might have known the toddler was still in the car seat.

"The main focus of the family right now is the safe return of the child," Williams said.

Evan is African American, with black hair and brown eyes.

The four-door green Jeep has a Texas license plate BP2N042. The vehicle has a sticker that reads, "Baby on Board."

About 50 patrol cars and a helicopter are searching for the child. Officials are talking with his mother at police headquarters downtown.

No further information was immediately available.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact police at 713-308-3600.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Search-on-for-baby-taken-in-SUV-stolen-from-SW-2496836.php

Evan Montgomery 18 months * CRITICAL MISSING * Houston, Texas * AMBER ALERT *

Evan Montgomery
CRITICAL MISSING

AGE: 18 months
SEX: Male
RACE: Black
HAIR: Black
EYES: Brown
HEIGHT: Approx. 32”
WEIGHT: Approx. 21 lbs

Evan’s mother left him and his 7-year-old cousin in a running vehicle
while she went into Walmart to use an ATM. An unidentified male jumped
in and fled with Evan, last seen heading toward the Southwest Freeway.


MISSING SINCE: January 12, 2012
MISSING FROM: Houston, Texas


SUSPECT:
Black male, wearing black clothing


VEHICLE (similar to photos)


Green 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 4 door
Texas Tag BP2N042
“Baby on Board” in rear window

CONTACT:
911
Houston Police Department 713-308-3600


POSTER / FLYER


http://pleasehelpthesemissingchildren.blogspot.com/

HOUSTON – The search continues for a toddler who was left inside a running SUV that was stolen from a Walmart parking lot in southwest Houston Thursday evening. The Houston Police Department issued an Amber Alert for 18-month-old Evan Lamar Miller.

The child was taken at about 5:44 p.m. from the 11200 block of South Gessner Drive in southwest Houston.

His mother told police she left her Jeep Cherokee running inside a handicap parking space to run back into the store for an item she forgot.

“I left my son and my niece in the car because it is very, very cold, and windy, and I had just gotten them bundled up, and the heat had started running and I did not want to take them back out,” Niah O’Neil said.

The 7-year-old girl was able to get out of the vehicle, but the toddler was left inside as the vehicle was stolen, police said.

O’Neil said she was only in the store for three minutes.

“As I am running out I saw my niece running toward me screaming my name, and my car going down the road. I dropped everything and ran towards the car,” she said.

The stolen vehicle is a green, four-door, 1996 Jeep Cherokee with Texas license plate #BP2N042.

“I couldn’t catch them. My son is in the car—I just want my son back—I don’t care about the car. I don’t care about anything—just give me my son back,” O’Neil said.

Investigators hope video surveillance will help them identify the car thief and kidnapper.

“Make sure that he gets back safely, and he is not hurt or cold. He doesn’t talk a lot. He doesn’t know what is going on. I just want my son that is all,” O’Neil said.

Evan was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt with "Jr. Captain" on the front in navy blue letters with white piping and the number "28" in hunter green. He had on hunter green pants and white sports socks with navy blue trim, and black and tan "Swiss Gear" hiking boots.

Anyone with information regarding the child, suspect or vehicle is asked to call the Houston Police Department at 713-308-3600.

http://www.kvue.com/news/state/137273238.html

What a stupid thing to do! I can't believe she left those children in a running car and went into WALMART! No transaction is fast in a Walmart. I hope and pray they find the baby alive and that he's OK.

PARENTS AND CARETAKERS: Never ever leave a child unattended in a car, especially running!

An 18-month-old toddler was found safe early Friday some 15 hours after an apparent car thief drove off with an SUV the baby's mother had left running in the parking lot of Houston Walmart.

Police and spectators broke out in cheers and applause at the sight of Evan Montgomery Lamar Miller in his mother's arms getting into an ambulance shortly after he was pulled unharmed from his car seat about a block from the Walmart where the vehicle was stolen, according to television reports.

Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said the boy was taken to the hospital for a thorough checkup.

Miller's mother left the 1996 Jeep Cherokee running around 5:45 p.m. Thursday when she ran into the Walmart to withdraw money from an ATM, Houston police said. The boy's 7-year-old cousin was in the car with him when a man climbed in and started driving off. The girl jumped out of the car.

Miller was found at the back of a strip mall less than a half-mile from the Walmart where the 1996 Jeep Cherokee was stolen, Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said. The reason they weren't able to find him right away is because the car was parked behind a restaurant in a wooded area and that high foliage made it difficult to spot from the air.

"It really took daylight coming up for the vehicle to be seen," Smith said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gcVoCIiffSNNLfUePe-HmauDQVvQ?docId=fa12792add19478593567f8b283aeb97

The car thief who drove off with a toddler inside the vehicle was
actually trying to kidnap the infant's 7-year-old female cousin, who was
able to escape his attempt to grab her, police said today.

The toddler was found safe today, 15 hours after his abduction, still in
the car. The car had been hidden under brush that was only visible from
about 20 feet away.

Evan Miller, 18 months, and his 7-year-old cousin were left in a Jeep
Cherokee with the motor running while his mom went inside of a Houston
Walmart to use the ATM around 5:45 p.m. Thursday.

"The suspect approached [the girl] in the vehicle and started asking
her about her mother," David Gott, a captain with the Houston Police
Department, said at a news conference today.

According to Gott, the suspect asked the girl, "Where's your mother? Did she leave you alone in the car?"

"He attempted to grab her, so we don't know if maybe she was the target
of the offense," Gott said. "This guy may be a predator. He may have bee
targeting that 7-year-old girl. He wasn't successful this time, so he
may be out there looking for someone else."

The girl, who has not been identified, attempted to grab her cousin
before she jumped out of the car, but was unsuccessful. She ran into the
Walmart where she found her aunt, who notified police.

An Amber Alert was immediately issued for the boy, but was cancelled
after he was found this morning by Terron Henry, owner of a restaurant
near where the SUV was parked and hidden from view.
"I was just rolling into work. You heard it was a green Jeep missing,
but then it started coming to me. Sometimes you hear the news and you're
not really looking, but then it's all happening and you put it
together. I just started running and calling 911 because I was just
hoping that baby was still alive," Henry told ABC News affiliate KTRK. "I'm happy the baby is OK. That's all that matters right now."

Miller has been released after undergoing an evaluation at Texas Children's Hospital.

He was still strapped into his car seat when Henry found him this morning.

"He was incredibly cold as you can imagine, but he is okay," Gott said.

John Cannon, spokesperson for the Houston Police Department told
ABCNews.com, said despite being only three blocks from the Walmart, the
Jeep was difficult for even police helicopters to locate.

"The vehicle was well hidden and wedged between the building and some
high foliage that even concealed it from the air," Cannon said. "The
suspect hid it well."

Cannon said it was unclear how long the suspect had the vehicle or whether he realized Miller was in the car when he stole it.

Police said there is potential the mother may face a misdemeanor for leaving her son in the car with the engine running.

"No matter what...you should never leave your car running for one
thing," Gott said. "But certainly never leave your car running when
you're not around with a child in the car. In this event it looks like
he knew a child was in the car when he took it."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/houston-fears-boys-abduction-means-child-predator-loose/story?id=15354033#.TxDc8YHPwfw

I'll bet she wouldn't leave her purse in a running car. Just her children.