Toddler safely recovered after left inside vehicle stolen from outside Redding home
REDDING, Calif., — Authorities say a 3-year-old who was inside a vehicle when it was stolen from outside a Redding residence was later found safe and reunited with their mother when the vehicle was located in Shasta Lake Friday, October 15.
Official reports indicate the mother had left the toddler inside her vehicle while she ran back into her home momentarily. When she returned to her vehicle from inside her residence, she saw the vehicle – along with her child – being driven away from the neighborhood, leading to her frantic 911 call and subsequent multi-agency search for the kidnapped victim and stolen vehicle.
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California Highway Patrol, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, Redding Police Department and Cal Fire were alerted to the crisis around 6:30 a.m. when the desperate mother called 911 and reported the incident, which occurred in the 12100 block of Cinder Road in Redding, Shasta County Sheriff’s officials have since reported.
Officials soon learned that Katrina Bishop, 27, had left her 3-year-old in the vehicle while she went back inside her residence to change her clothing and when she returned her stolen vehicle was already leaving the area.
“When Bishop exited her residence, the vehicle was seen leaving the area driven by an unknown suspect,” officials explained.
While deputies began searching the area for the stolen vehicle and kidnapped child, CHP Northern Division Air Operations responded to the area to assist with the search from above.
About forty minutes into the search, SHASCOM emergency dispatchers received a call from a concerned citizen who reported that he had located an unattended juvenile inside a vehicle in the area of Leona and Pine Grove avenues in Shasta Lake, just two miles from where the early-morning vehicle theft and kidnapping occurred.
The vehicle and child’s description provided by the man matched the description of the stolen vehicle and missing toddler, and deputies who rushed to that location quickly confirmed that it was the stolen vehicle and kidnapped juvenile.
The juvenile was found safe and in good health and later reunited with their mother.
Although deputies conducted a neighborhood canvass for any information related to who stole the vehicle, no suspect(s) were located or apprehended.
The investigation, which is being handled by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit is ongoing and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office used the opportunity to “strongly discourage” leaving any child unattended in a vehicle for any reason.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office has asked that anyone with further information regarding this incident to call SHASCOM at (530)245-6540.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.