For a moment, Lucila Barrientos feared she would never see her baby again.
“Pero a la vez yo tenía mucha fe,” in Spanish Barrientos said she clung to her faith and the work of the Fort Worth Police Department.
On Monday evening, Barrientos told police she left her car running while she went inside her sister-in-law’s home with her five-year-old daughter.
According to Barrientos, she never leaves her children in the car unattended. She admits she does not know what she was thinking.
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She went inside to drop off an item. In less than five minutes, she went back outside to get in her car.
In Spanish, Barrientos said she could not believe her car was no longer there. She said she began to cry and yell. Barrientos later called 911 and told police a man drove off in her car with her baby in his car seat.
While police worked to track down the suspect, Barrientos said she kept praying.
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Barrientos’ prayer was that the suspect would find it in his heart to not hurt the infant.
Police said 25-year-old Elliot Reyes stole the car and left the infant hidden behind a guardrail at the end of a dead-end road.
Within two hours, Barrientos was reunited with her baby. Police were also able to return her vehicle. But like many, she watched the moment police officers found the baby, who was still in a car carrier, online.
She said it was hard to watch and hear her son cry. Although physically unharmed, Barrientos said her son is startled by loud noises.
Although tough to watch the video, she said she feels grateful to the officers but also to the suspect.
Barrientos is thankful her son does not have a single scratch or bruise on him. Police officers were also able to recover her vehicle.
Barrientos said she will continue to pray for the safety and work of police officers. Without their help, she fears she may have never found her baby.
According to Fort Worth Police, the parents are not expected to face any charges.
Online jail records show Reyes is being held on charges of burglary of a building, theft of property, and abandoning or endangering a child with bonds totaling $68,000. Reyes faces an additional charge of criminal attempt for capital murder of a person under 10 years old.
