A woman was able to use the Find My iPhone feature to track down her son who was kidnapped when her car was stolen with him inside.
Jerrica Moore, 31, had hopped out of her car without removing its keys, after which a man got in and drove with her nine-year-old son still inside.
Incredibly, the quick-thinking mum was able to track the car - and her son - using the Find My iPhone app.
In a statement, Atlanta Police Department said: “Officers immediately responded to the scene and began their preliminary investigation.
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“Ms Moore was able to track her son’s iPhone using ‘my location’ and relay real time tracking information to officers. Atlanta Police with the assistance of Georgia State Patrol (GSP), Fulton County PD and the Fulton County Sheriff’s responded and used the tracking information to work at locating the vehicle.
“An Atlanta officer was able to spot the vehicle being closely pursued by GSP. The suspect attempted to flee from officers, but GSP was able to successfully execute a precision immobilisation technique (PIT) to render the vehicle immobile.”
Thankfully, the boy was uninjured but was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Hughes Spalding Hospital for a once-over. The suspect was subsequently arrested.
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Police have warned other motorists to ensure they lock their cars as soon as they step out of them.
The statement added: “We are happy to report the child and his mother have been reunited. We again remind the community to lock their cars, and remove all valuables, including their children, when exiting their vehicles.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Kids and Car Safety Director Amber Rollins warned there was no amount of time that was ‘safe’ to leave your car unlocked with your child inside.
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She told the news outlet: “It’s a crime of opportunity, thieves know when people are going to leave their car running while they just run in somewhere. No amount of time is safe.
“Bad guys are going to take advantage of the opportunity, and they don’t see the child in the back seat until they’ve already taken the car,” she said. “Most of the time they realise very quickly and they panic and ditch the car, or dump the kid off the side of the road.”
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Claire Reid