Stolen vehicle with baby inside recovered by police

A 2-month-old baby has been safely reunited with their parents after thieves stole a van the child was in.

A police spokesperson said that a van was stolen from Roberts Road in Te Atatū South at 12.51pm on Monday.

“Police were informed a baby was in the back of it,” they said.

Do you know more? Contact aucklandnewsroom@stuff.co.nz

Crews in the Eagle police helicopter were able to track the vehicle to Meadow Crescent, also in Te Atatū South. It was located around 2.40pm, police said.

“Police were quickly on the scene and found the baby inside.”

The baby was reunited with their parents and was taken to hospital for a precautionary check-up.

At this stage, the offenders are still at large, but police say enquiries are ongoing.

Stuff has seen CCTV footage recorded outside Blue 2 Laundromat on Roberts Road which shows a van being taken.

Two men ride on bicycles past the parked van before one returns. The van is then driven off.

The woman leaves the laundromat, moments after the van sped off, before rushing back inside to get help.

Meanwhile, photos taken by a resident on Meadow Crescent where police say the stolen van was located, show police officers with dogs searching the area.

The resident told a reporter that she had been told to stay inside. Some time later the van was towed away.

The incident follows community-wide efforts to return two-year-old Willow in West Auckland to her parents after she went missing on Sunday.

Officers, family and hundreds of members of the public had been searching for Willow after she was last seen playing in the garden of her home in Henderson with her sibling.

Local resident Jean Thomas, who had been out searching said it was incredible to see the moment she was brought home, after being missing for about six hours.

“I just thought – thank god.”