A mother has recalled the terrifying moment her car was stolen from her driveway with her two-month-old baby still inside it in Townsville.
Queensland mother Sarah Hill was cleaning the car in her driveway in Garbutt, Townsville when the alleged offenders hopped into the front seat and began to drive off.
"My baby's in there!" Hill can be heard yelling on CCTV footage.
Hill began to chase down the car, before the baby was deposited in her carrier onto the grass berm on the side of the road a few hundred metres down from the house.
She told 9News it was the most terrifying thing she'd ever experienced.
"My soul left my body. It was the most terrifying thing that has probably ever happened in my life that I will probably ever experience," she said.
Queensland police said the offenders stopped the car and "placed the baby in the car seat on the footpath before fleeing again".
They confirmed the child was uninjured, and thieves also returned Sarah's phone when they gave the baby back.
Superintendent Damian Crosby said the thieves were likely not initially aware that there was a baby in the car when they took it.
Ten people, including eight teenagers, were arrested and charged in relation to the incident.
The offenders' ages range from 14 to 21.
They allegedly found seven stolen vehicles in total as part of their investigation into the Garbutt incident, however investigations remained ongoing to confirm the links.
"We can't discount that there are additional offenders that are yet to be located," Crosby said.
In 2024, the tight-knit Taranaki community of Waitara was rocked by a similar incident in which a thief stole a car from outside a dairy without realising it contained a six-month-old baby sleeping in the backseat.
CCTV footage uploaded to social media at the time appeared to show the "brazen" incident as the suspect got out of the vehicle and dumped the infant on a grass verge before driving away.
Michael Smith, 34, later pleaded guilty to 21 charges relating to the crime spree, including abduction, and was sentenced to four years' imprisonment.
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