Search underway for suspect in car theft, kidnapping of 5-year-old girl in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando police officers late Wednesday were searching a College Park neighborhood for a suspect in a car theft and kidnapping. 

Around 7:30 p.m., officers responded to Gabriel’s Sub Shop on Edgewater Dr. in reference to a kidnapping. A man said his fiancée was inside ordering food while he waited in the car with his 5-year-old daughter. After a few minutes, he went inside the restaurant to check on his fiancée, leaving his daughter asleep in the unlocked vehicle.  

"Within a matter of seconds, the suspect entered the victim's vehicle and fled the parking lot," said Lt. Wanda Miglio with the Orlando Police Department. "The victim jumped in front of the vehicle; however, the vehicle was able to maneuver around the victim."

After a search was conducted, officers located the car less than a mile away on Ardsley Drive with the child inside and unharmed. 

Officers said the child was reunited with the parents as they continued to search for the suspect, going door-to-door with K-9s at homes near the intersection of Ardsley Drive and Quailey Street.

"The police seemed to have covered the area, and they were walking up the street," said College Park resident Barry Wenhold.  "The majority of the people have fenced-in yards [and] police have been checking everything. Sometimes you think they're a nuisance, but they're doing their job, and I think they are doing a great job."

The suspect is described as a black man, 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds.  He has a black flat top hair cut and is approximately 17 years of age. He was last seen wearing a red jacket with a hoodie and white shorts.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).