Car Thief Takes 3 Infants as Well; Babies Dropped Off Later at Costco

A car with three infants strapped in seats was stolen from a Tustin gas station Tuesday night, but the children were returned safely after being dropped off at a department store, police said.

The father, whom police did not identify, had left the triplets unattended in a running car about 8:05 p.m. while he went into a Shell station on Jamboree Road, said Sgt. Tom Tarpley of the Tustin Police Department. In the 15 seconds he was in the station, a man stole the vehicle with the children strapped inside, Tarpley said.

About 25 minutes later, an employee of the Costco store at Tustin Ranch Road and El Camino Real called police to report that three infants, still strapped in car seats, had been found at the store. The father was brought to the scene and confirmed that the children were his.

Police late Tuesday were still looking for the suspect and the vehicle, a blue Toyota 4-Runner with California license plates 2WIL094.