Abducted baby found in car far from home

An 8-month-old boy abducted Monday morning in Monterey County when a thief stole the family car, in which his father briefly left him alone, was found nearly 100 miles away in San Jose when a Good Samaritan rescued him, officials said.

The boy was taken about 4:47 a.m. after his father started the family car in the driveway of their Soledad home, then went inside to grab his lunch, leaving the car door open and the child strapped into a car seat in the back, police said.

The thief then jumped in the white 1992 Honda Accord and sped away, apparently unaware the child was in the car, according to California Highway Patrol. An Amber Alert was issued.

When the driver reached San Jose, he apparently pulled over in the 600 block of Walnut Street, where a passerby noticed he appeared to be on drugs and was in no condition to care for the baby in the back seat, said Officer Albert Morales of the San Jose Police Department.

Fearing for the baby’s safety, the concerned citizen opened the rear door of the car, pulled the child and car seat out of the vehicle and called police as the thief drove away, said Morales.

Once the child was found, San Jose and Soledad police exchanged pictures of him and determined he was the child taken in Soledad, according to Soledad Deputy Police Chief Chuck Wasson.

The boy was found about 7:15 a.m., about 2½ hours after he went missing. The Amber Alert was canceled once he was discovered.

The suspect, 43-yearold Raymond Randy Gutierrez, was later arrested in Salinas, according to Soledad police.

The baby was reunited with his parents at the San Jose Police Department.

“The baby’s fine, other than being a hundred miles away from home — good health, good spirits,” Wasson said. “Finally, some good news.”