- Sabriya Miles saw a stranger drive away with her car with her baby inside
- Police say a repo man recovered the vehicle without noticing the newborn inside
An Indiana mother was shocked and scared when she thought her seven-day-old baby had been kidnapped outside a daycare center.
Sabriya Miles was just dropping off her four-year-old son at daycare in Evansville and leaving newborn Adrian in the backseat of her gold Chevy when she saw a stranger get into her car and drive away.
“She’s a good mother,” Miles insisted on WFIE. “It was two seconds.”
But in a stunning twist, the car was actually seized – and police say the repo man didn’t know there was a baby in the car when he seized it.
Sabriya Miles watched in horror on June 6 as a repo man took her car with her seven-day-old baby inside
Miles, who has two other children, said she watched in horror as the stranger drove away in her car on June 6, fearing her newborn baby would be kidnapped.
She and another mother then chased the car down the street, but to no avail, leaving the new mother panicking as she reported a possible kidnapping to local police.
For several minutes, Miles said she was at a loss for words as she and another mother tried to chase the vehicle.
“I couldn’t talk, I was just too frustrated and I was crying,” Miles said WFIE.
“I carried my baby for nine months and now I’ve lost her?”
She claims she had no warning her car would be impounded before the repo man took off with her newborn daughter.
Miles was dropping her 4-year-old off at daycare when her car was impounded
Miles said she received no warning that her gold Chevy would be seized
Fortunately, after driving just a few miles, the unknown driver stopped and noticed the newborn.
He then called the police to pick up the child. according to a GoFundMe created to raise money for a new vehicle for Miles.
It had raised more than $8,000 to buy Miles a new car, and to buy new car seats — since the seats she had for her children had been left in the car — as of early Friday morning.
“With the right resources, with the right community support, we have the ability to completely change the trajectory of a family’s life,” said local attorney and daycare owner Tanisha Carothers, who created the campaign.
She said she felt compelled to help after hearing Miles’ story.
“When I think about the humanity of taking the car back from a daycare center, I would have been outraged if a dealer had done that to a family in my parking lot,” Carothers explained.
Miles remained panicked for several minutes as she reported a possible kidnapping to the police
Evansville police say no charges will be filed against the repo man or Miles, explaining to the local news station that there was no kidnapping and that Miles did not act negligently by leaving the newborn in the vehicle.
Still, Miles says she learned a lesson from the harrowing ordeal.
“I’ve been a mother since I was 15 years old, and this is the first time something like this has happened to me,” she told WFIE through tears.
“I won’t let it happen again.”