A 24-year-old woman is in jail after police in Pittsburg say she stole a vehicle with a one year old inside, triggering an Amber Alert Thursday night.
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SKY7 showed the dramatic rescue of a one year old girl still buckled in her car seat. She was unharmed. 24-year-old Nataly Ayala was arrested for kidnapping and car theft. She is now in jail in Martinez, according to Pittsburg police.
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The drama started at 5:45.m. at an auto detail shop on Bliss Ave. in Pittsburg.
The business across the street was stunned to see what their surveillance video showed: a woman in white pants jumping in a vehicle and speeding away.
Eyewitness Adrian Hernandez said just before the kidnapping and theft, "She came up and asked me for a cigarette and I told her I didn't have any."
He then said a friend, a dad, pulled in to say "hello" and stepped out of his car for only 15- 20 seconds when the woman jumped in the drivers seat.
Pittsburg police say he left the engine running, his daughter in the back seat.
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VIDEO: East Bay toddler found safe after AMBER Alert issued for stolen SUV she was in, police say
East Bay toddler found safe after Amber Alert issued for stolen SUV
"He tried to get back inside and he couldn't. She put it in drive and left. She sped off fast," Hernandez said.
The abandoned vehicle with the baby was found on Army St. two hours later.
By midnight, the suspect was arrested walking on Harbor Street.
"I'm scared for my kids. I told my wife, you know we go anywhere, bring the kids. I don't care if she's 16 just bring her out of the vehicle," said Jorge Argueta, who owns the business with the surveillance camera.
There was also a missing baby in a stolen car in Concord.
Police say the parents went into the Wingstop on Ygnacio Valley Road when somebody got into their white van and drove off at about 10 p.m. Police believe the van was unlocked and the keys were inside. The van and baby were found not far away in a residential court in the Newhall Park area of Concord. The parents were reunited with the baby last night.
At 10:00p.m. on Thursday, Concord police responded to a stolen vehicle on Ygnacio Valley Rd. with a four month old inside. Within 30 minutes, the car was found and the infant was not injured. No arrests so far in the case.
Earlier this week in Oakland, a dad stopped for coffee on his way to school with his eight year old.
"Literally in the time it took to park and the seconds to get over to the sidewalk I already heard the glass smash," said Michael Curry, a parent.
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His laptop and passport were taken.
His daughter was ok.
"I just think with the number of instances that have happened recently, there's really something going on," Curry said. "This is something new to me. It was really bold. There were a lot of people around."
Police always warn of leaving packages, phones and purses in cars especially during the holidays.
But it appears even cars with children or people or pets inside them, are being targeted this year.