Utah police: Man yanks woman out of minivan, drives off with toddler


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SALT LAKE CITY — A man yanked a woman out of her minivan in Salt Lake City on Thursday afternoon, driving off with her 3-year-old girl still inside, police said.

The carjacking occurred about 1:30 p.m as the woman was stopped to make a U-turn at Green Street (between 600 East and 700 East) and 2100 South, Salt Lake police said.

The man, who the woman did not know, came up to the vehicle and pulled her out of it, Salt Lake Police Lt. Jenn Diedrich said.

The man drove away westbound, Diedrich said. Witnesses saw the carjacking happen and followed the man to State Street and 2100 South while calling police, according to Diedrich.

About 30 minutes later, a man noticed the toddler walking in the area of Fayette and West Temple and, after not seeing the child's parent, called police.

"The mom was elated and very happy," Diedrich said.

The girl was OK after the incident, according to the lieutenant, and due to her young age hasn't said much about what happened.

"We were very fortunate to make sure this child was found," she said.

As of late Thursday evening, police were still looking for the man and the minivan.

They say they are seeking a person of interest and shared surveillance photos of a partially bald man wearing dark clothing. The minivan was described as a greenish-gray 2001 Honda Odyssey.

Anyone with information regarding the man or the vehicle is asked to call Salt Lake police at 801-799-3000.

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Ashley Imlay is an evening news manager for KSL.com. A lifelong Utahn, Ashley has also worked as a reporter for the Deseret News and is a graduate of Dixie State University.

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