Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Amber Alert Canceled: Baby and Jeep Found

The baby was found safe inside the Jeep in East San Jose.

Update: 12:30 p.m. Monday, March 25: The San Jose Police Department said it has located the missing 11-month-old San Jose infant Gabriela Quintero and the 2006 Jeep Liberty that was taken.

At approximately 11:17 a.m., the SJPD's 9-1-1 communications center received a report from a citizen that they spotted the suspect vehicle in the driveway of a carport area in the 400 block of Amargosa Court in San Jose.

Officers arrived on scene at 11:22 a.m. and located the Jeep with the infant still seated in the backseat.

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The officer assessed the infant and she did not appear injured. She was transported to a local hospital as a precaution.

A uniformed officer rode in the ambulance with the infant and robbery detectives are with the mother and en route to reunite her with her daughter, police said in a media advisory.

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The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident remains ongoing and no information is being released regarding which hospital the infant was taken to, police said.

***********************

An infant girl who was inside a Jeep Liberty that was stolen from San Jose this morning has been found safe, police said.

The Jeep was found at the Seven Trees Community Center near East Capitol Expressway, a police officer said. Police have not yet released more details about how the car and child were found.

The vehicle was taken at about 6:40 a.m. in the 2300 block of Amador Court, off of Story Road, a few blocks from Interstate Highway 680.

The mother, Graciella Quintero, had placed her 11-month-old daughter Gabriella in a car seat in the backseat of the Jeep but had not yet strapped her in, San Jose police Sgt. Jason Dwyer said.

Quintero was bringing items from her house to her car and stepped away from the Jeep momentarily, leaving the key in the ignition with the engine off, Dwyer said. When she came back outside she saw the Jeep driving
away.

Her daughter, whose first birthday is in four days, was gone, police said.

She called police, who arrived within three minutes, Dwyer said.

The suspect is believed to be a woman described as white or Hispanic and in her 30s, wearing a dark top and dark pants and carrying a red-and-white Target bag.

Quintero, who is a single mother, did not recognize the suspect but saw her standing nearby before the car was stolen, Dwyer said.

Dwyer said the mother was "understandably shaken."

“It's very difficult to interview someone in that condition," he said.

It is unclear whether the car thief knew there was a baby in the Jeep, but Dwyer said police were treating the case as a stranger abduction.

About 40 San Jose police officers were looking for the Jeep and the girl, and law enforcement agencies throughout the Bay Area were on alert.

The California Highway Patrol was involved, and an aerial search was being conducted.

The Jeep Liberty was described as white with a spare tire attached to the rear, and a sticker showing two babies kissing each other.

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