Salem Police are searching for a suspect involved in the theft of a vehicle from the parking lot of the Holiday Lodge, in the 1400 block of Hawthorne Ave NE.  The vehicle was left parked with the engine running and the keys inside, along with a 2 yr old child, while the driver, who is the mother of the child,  went into the hotel. When the mother exited the hotel, she saw her vehicle driving away northbound on Hawthorne, with her child still inside.  Salem Police received the 911 call from the mother at approximately 2:18pm reporting that an unknown person had stolen her vehicle with her 2 yr old daughter still in the vehicle.  All available Salem units, along with OSP and Marion County Sheriff's Office, responded to the area to begin searching for the vehicle. Approximately 20 minutes after the intitial 911 call, officers located the vehicle abandoned a few blocks away.  The child was still inside the vehicle and was unharmed.  The child was later reunited with her mother.   

Officers on scene set up a perimeter around the area where the vehicle was located and called in a K9 to search the for the suspect.  Investigators are on scene and are canvassing the local businesses for video surveillance of the suspect. At this time the suspect has not been located and investigators continue to work to identify the person. 

More information will be released as it becomes available.

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