A fiasco involving auto theft, armed robbery, hijacking and a missing 1-year-old child sent police on a citywide search Friday afternoon that culminated in the child's healthy return from a car near campus.
Penn Police discovered the child inside a stolen 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix on the 400 block of South 41st Street near Baltimore Avenue. The car was found at 3:15 p.m.
According to Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey, the incident began when an armed man stole the vehicle from a car dealership at 29th Street and Vare Avenue.
After crashing that vehicle into cars and houses on the 2800 block of Wharton Street in the Gray's Ferry section of the city, the man left the vehicle and ran to where victim Natasha Herrell was about to enter her car.
The robber drove away in Herrell's car with her daughter still inside, Dorsey said.
He added that the armed robber -- who is still at large -- may be in the vicinity of campus.
"It didn't happen in our area," Dorsey said. "But we are concerned that -- because the car was on the border of our patrol -- [the robber] may be from southwest Philly, just south of campus."
After the Penn Police plainclothes detail -- a group of officers patrolling the area without uniform -- found the child, they immediately brought her to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was reunited with her family.
She did not suffer any injuries.
The robber is described as a heavyset black male between 30 and 35 years old. At the time of the incident, he wore blue jeans and a black jacket.
Dorsey said that Penn Police are on high alert for the robber. He added that more plainclothes officers will be patrolling the area.
