Search for men who stole a car with toddler inside, ran over mom continues

Police continue to search for two men who stole a Volkswagen that had a 2-year-old inside and ran over the child's mother Thursday near Libertyville.

Officials are reviewing video surveillance that may reveal images of the two men, who eventually dropped off the abducted child in a parking lot on the 2200 block of Lakeside Drive in Waukegan and got away in a BMW. The victim's Volkswagen was recovered in a parking lot on the 2200 block of South Lakeside Drive, about 2 miles away from the spot the men dropped off the child, officials said.

"Evidence technicians today are thoroughly processing the Volkswagen, searching for any trace evidence, including fingerprints and DNA," said Lake County sheriff's Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.

The woman, 34, had just returned home when the carjackers struck on the 16000 block of Route 37. She remains hospitalized and received treatment for multiple broken bones, Covelli said.

Covelli said Friday the victim's car and the child could have been recovered sooner. When the woman reported the car stolen with her child inside, he said, a detective called the Volkswagen car tracking service Car-Net and asked where the vehicle was. The detective was told that because the tracking service's bill had not been paid, the employee wouldn't reveal the car's location until the officer paid up, which he did, Covelli said.

"It added close to 30 minutes to the process," Covelli said. "We had very fortunately already located the abducted 2-year-old and also found the stolen Volkswagen."

Covelli said Volkswagen Car-Net has taken accountability for what happened and said it was not standard practice to charge police for location data.

Police believe the BMW the men were driving Thursday was stolen last week from a dealership in Waukegan. Covelli said investigators are reviewing security tape from that theft.

The woman described one of the two men as being tall, thin and wearing a gray sweatshirt and light green face mask.

Covelli said no one was in custody.

Anoyone with information about the case should call the sheriff's office at (847) 377-4000 or submit a tip at lakecountycrimestoppers.org.