INDIANAPOLIS — Police have released surveillance video of a suspect who stole a care with a baby inside. That incident led to an AMBER Alert in Indianapolis Tuesday evening. Fortunately, 7-month-old Jackson Shugars was found safe hours later.
On Wednesday, police tweeted video of the car being taken.
An AMBER Alert was issued around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
According to IMPD, a gold or tan Ford Taurus was stolen from the 4000 block of West Washington Street, near Holt Road, around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. The car was also located with the child around 11:30 p.m.
No other information about the discovery of Jackson Shugars had been released as of midnight Tuesday. IMPD said the investigation was ongoing.
During the search, Shugars' grandmother, Betty Spurlin, said he requires special formula and medication for his stomach, which he didn't have with him.
"The only thing that I'm asking is for Jackson to be brought home safely. You can drop him off at a hospital, doctor's office, gas station, we really don't care where you drop him off at as long as he's with somebody safe and he can get back to us. You can have the car. I won't even involve the police as long as we get him back," Spurlin said. "Just bring my grandbaby home, that's all we ask. That's it. Nothing else. You guys can have everything else."
Police said the suspect is a white female who was wearing a gray shirt, black-and-white jacket and black pants. Police have not yet located the suspect.
Investigators said officers were notified at 7:45 p.m. about the stolen vehicle, but there may have been a delay in reporting the theft. Police said they are not sure why the child's mother waited to report the stolen car and missing child.
The initial call came in to police from a home on Morgan Street, about three miles from the reported crime scene, IMPD said.
Police requested business owners and people who live around the 4000 block of West Washington to check their surveillance cameras for images of the crime. The video released Wednesday shows the incident caught on surveillance cameras.
If anyone has any information on the suspect, please call IMPD missing persons detectives at 317-327-6160 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS.
What criteria is needed for an AMBER Alert?
In this case, it took about three hours to activate an AMBER Alert Tuesday night.
IMPD said officers were dispatched at 7:45 p.m., but it wasn’t until 10:30 that an alert was sent out by Indiana State Police. The baby was later found around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“First of all, our detectives have to identify that criteria is met for the AMBER Alert and then it has be coordinated with the Indiana State Police to get that information out,” said IMPD Lt. Shane Foley.
“Once that information is turned over to Indiana State Police, there is a specific process we go through,” said ISP Sgt. John Perrine.
AMBER Alert criteria
- The child must be under 18 years of age.
- The child must be believed to be abducted, AND in danger of serious bodily harm or death.
- There must be enough descriptive information to believe the broadcast will help.
- Request must be recommended by the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction.
- Enter the child into IDACS/NCIC with message key EME.
“We have people on-call 24 hours, seven days a week to handle these cases. They have to run it through their checks, type the release, get the photos attached to the release and then they have to push it out,” Perrine said.