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Police searching for suspect who stole car with children inside from Hampton Wawa parking lot

Posted at 3:47 PM, Feb 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-19 15:47:45-05

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton Police Division is asking for the public’s help in identifying the man in connection with a stolen vehicle investigation that turned into an abduction investigation.

On February 16 around 3 p.m., dispatchers received a call for service in reference to a vehicle that had been stolen from the Wawa in the 300 block of East Mercury Boulevard. The call was updated to an abduction call when the caller, a 24-year-old Hampton woman, told them that two children (ages eight and two) were inside the vehicle when it was stolen.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the victim parked her car at the gas pumps, leaving the two children inside the running vehicle while she went inside the store. The suspect, who was walking through the parking lot at the time, got into the driver’s seat and drove off with the vehicle.

At some point when the suspect was getting inside the vehicle, he almost immediately noticed the children inside. He parked in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven that is also in the 300 block of East Mercury Boulevard, got out of the car and fled the area on foot.

The vehicle was recovered, and both children were unharmed.

The suspect is described as a black male who is between 17-22 years old and is 5’7″-5’10” tall. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt with dark-colored pants and white sneakers.

The suspect was last seen running from the area westbound on East Mercury Boulevard.

Anyone who has information about this incident is asked to call the Hampton Police Division at (757)  or the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887). Tips may also be submitted online here or at P3Tips.com.

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