Car thief returns, scolds owner for leaving her child in the vehicle, Oregon cops say

A woman in Oregon received a lecture from an unlikely source after her car was stolen Saturday.

The woman was shopping in Basics Meat Market in Beaverton around 9 a.m. when a man hopped in her 2013 Honda Pilot and drove off, police told KOIN.

Not long after, he discovered something unexpected — the woman’s son was still in the car, according to the outlet.

The thief returned to the parking lot and made the woman remove her son from the back seat before admonishing her, KOIN reported.

“He actually lectured the mother for leaving the child in the car and threatened to call the police on her,” Officer Matt Henderson, a police spokesman, told Oregon Live.

The thief then drove off in the car — for a second time, KPTV reported.

The woman said she’d parked just outside the door to the store and was never farther than 15 feet from the car, according to Oregon Live. She said she just popped inside to buy meat and a gallon of milk.

“As moms we get really busy and we think we’re just running in for a second and this is just a perfect example of just letting our guards down and how terribly it could have ended,” she told KPTV. “So I’m just thankful that he’s OK and it was so stupid and I’ll never do that again, but it’s that split second decision that could just change everything.”

The boy, who’s 4 years old, wasn’t harmed, according to the outlet.

Police are searching for the vehicle and the man, Oregon Live reported. Anyone with information is asked to contact Beaverton police at 503-629-0111.

Beaverton is just west of Portland.

This story was originally published January 17, 2021 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Car thief returns, scolds owner for leaving her child in the vehicle, Oregon cops say."