Girl, 6, Was in Stolen Vehicle

A 6-year-old girl asleep in the back seat of a car stolen Sunday night in Rialto was found safe the next morning after she awoke in the abandoned vehicle and knocked on the door of a nearby home asking for help.

Akyra Hernandez’s mother had left her alone in a Ford Escort with the engine running, authorities said. The Rialto woman was escorting her nephew home at 10:35 p.m. when the car was stolen, said police Det. James Massey.

Police said the nephew had bought a snake at a swap meet in Colton earlier in the day, and Akyra’s mother wanted to help him bring the snake into the house, in the 400 block of North Joyce Avenue. The engine was left running so the heater would keep Akyra warm, her mother told police.

Someone got in the car and drove away, apparently not realizing the child was in the back seat, police said. “It appears once the [thief] realized the child was inside, the car was just dumped,” Massey said.

Rialto Police Sgt. Eric Bremner said Akyra slept through the ordeal, waking around 7 a.m. Akyra was unable to provide police with any information about the thief, police said.

The girl showed no trauma, and no valuable items inside the car were missing, police said. The car was impounded in an attempt to discover clues that could lead to an arrest, police said.

“[Akyra] seems calm and playful,” Massey said. “We were all excited and glad to get her back in the condition we found her.”

Bremner said it would be left to the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office to determine if Akyra’s mother would face any child endangerment charges connected to the incident.

The car was found about two miles from where it was stolen, police said.

“We get about 75 to 90 grand theft auto reports per year from people who say they left their car running only for a minute to go inside their home for a cup of coffee, or to walk inside a convenience store,” Bremner said. “It’s an invitation to theft.”