Search is on for suspect who stole van with young boy inside

FOND DU LAC (WITI) -- Fond du Lac police are searching for a suspect who stole a van outside of a Shopko store on Monday evening, June 10th. The suspect took the van without realizing an eight-year-old boy was inside.

The boy's mother discovered the van and her son missing shortly after 5 p.m. Monday. Police say the vehicle's keys had been left in the ignition.

Investigators say the suspect dropped off the child near Military Rd. and Seymour St. in Fond du Lac and then left the area.

The boy, who had a cell phone, was reunited with his father. The child was not threatened or physically harmed by the suspect.

The child was able to contact his mom via cell phone after he was dropped off, because he had been playing games on her phone in the van.

"As long as he can play video games, he's pretty content," Holly Jaschob, the boy's mother told FOX6 News.

Jaschob said the two went to ShopKo -- and that her son, Elijah had requested a pack of gum. However, when they arrived at the store, they discovered Eli had forgotten his shoes.

"I said, 'you're not gonna be able to come in the store. You don't have any shoes on. Take my cell phone and play your little Temple Run 2 game,'" Jaschob said.

The boy's mom left her keys in the ignition, the air conditioning on, and thought she'd locked the doors.

"I don't know if we have a safety mechanism in the car where if it's running it won't lock the driver's door?" Jaschob said.

Jaschob and Eli's sister were gone for just a few minutes.

"When I came back out, the van was gone," Jaschob said.

While Jaschob panicked, Eli was absorbed in his game. He said he felt the car start to move, but thought his mom was behind the wheel. Then, his cell phone rang.

"I was shocked when I poked my head up and it wasn't my mom. So I poke my head from the back and he looks behind and then he says 'get out -- so I got out,'" Eli said.



The Fond du Lac Police Department is looking for the stolen van and the suspect.  The van is described as a silver 2002 Chrysler Town & Country with Wisconsin license IAM00C.

The suspect is described as a male, Hispanic, in his early 20s with short hair on top but shorter on the sides. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt, long black shorts that hung past the knees and brown work-type boots. The suspect also has tattoos covering both arms.

Anyone having information regarding this incident is urged to call Detective Bill Ledger at the Fond du Lac Police Department at 920-322-3723 or the Crime Alert at 920-322-3740.