A B.C. mother is warning parents about leaving their kids alone in a car, even if they can see the car the whole time.
Merritt resident Renee Barron had two of her children home sick on Friday, but she had to go down to her other son’s school to drop off a form.
So she packed her two children into the car and pulled into the parking lot.
“When I first pulled into the school, I noticed a lady in the parking lot, she looked like she was looking for something,” Barron said.
She didn’t think anything of it. She parked outside the school and even when she was inside she could see her car, with her two children in the back, through the windows.
“I look into the office to see what’s going on. And when I look back out at my vehicle I can see my car moving,” Barron said.
She ran outside and tried to chase down the car yelling, “That’s my vehicle! It happened so fast and wasn’t something you would think would happen, especially at a school.”
Barron ran back into the school and staff called the police right away.
Merritt RCMP said the car was found a short distance away with both children safe in the back. In a release, they said a person known to them was taken into custody without incident.
Barron said it was the woman she had previously seen in the parking lot.
“So it was a woman who took my car with my kids in it,” she added.
The mother of three wanted to share her story as a warning to parents everywhere.
“Don’t ever leave your car running with your kids in it, anywhere, because we’re not safe,” she said.
“We recognize this incident has been very traumatic for all involved and our local school where it occurred”, Sgt. Josh Roda said in a statement.
“We no longer live in a day and age where we can leave our vehicles running and expect them to be there when we come back. We want to use this as a reminder to encourage parents never leave your vehicles running if you’re not in them.”