Child abduction leads to police chase through Cheltenham and Philadelphia

CHELTENHAM, Pa. (WPVI) -- A brief police chase through Cheltenham and Philadelphia ended Thursday with the safe recovery of a 2-year-old girl who had been inside a stolen SUV.

According to family members, the child's grandmother had gone out earlier in the day with a female friend and her granddaughter. She stopped at a corner store near Rising Sun and Adams Street, leaving the child in the car with her adult friend. When she returned, the vehicle was gone.

"She just left the scene with my granddaughter," the grandmother said. "Just left. I came out of the store, and she was gone with my granddaughter in the car."

Frantic, she called her daughter, who was able to track the stolen SUV using an AirTag. The vehicle was located near a shopping center on Cheltenham Avenue, about four miles away, and police were notified.

Cheltenham police arrived within two minutes, but the woman driving the SUV fled, prompting a chase with the child still inside.

Police eventually stopped the vehicle on the 100 block of Walnut Lane in Germantown.

Video shared by the family shows police arresting the suspect and reuniting the child with her relatives.

"Yes, really relieved everything was nice. Safe and sound," a family member said.

Police say charges against the suspect are pending.