Baby Safe After Wild Ride With Thief

COLUMBIA, S.C. —  A 4-month-old baby with a heart condition who was inside a car that had been stolen was found unhurt in a dumpster where he had been left by the thief, authorities said.

Police arrested 17-year-old Jeffery Charles Jefferies, a fugitive from a state correctional facility, shortly after the theft of the car Friday night. Jefferies told police he had left the baby at a convenience store.

After a seven-hour search, police found Matthew David Caldwell on Saturday, still in his car seat, in a dumpster behind a gasoline station. The baby was born two months premature and requires medication every 12 hours.

The baby’s father, Roland Caldwell, said he left Matthew in the car with the motor running to keep the baby warm when he stopped at a gas station to make a phone call.

Caldwell gave chase and grabbed onto a door as the thief drove off. The suspect headed toward Interstate 26, with Caldwell hanging on. Caldwell finally fell off at the entrance ramp to the highway.