SEYMOUR — A 12-year-old Seymour girl helped police capture a woman who took the vehicle the girl was sitting in outside a store Tuesday evening.
Shawna L. Lucas, 28, of Hillcrest Drive in Seymour faces charges of auto theft, a Level 6 felony, and criminal confinement, a Level 5 felony, in connection with the incident reported by the girl’s mother at 9:31 p.m. at the Dollar General Store at 1224 E. Tipton St.
The mother told Seymour dispatchers her vehicle was missing and her daughter was inside the vehicle, Detective Sgt. C.J. Foster said.
While officers were speaking with the mother, dispatchers received a 911 call from the woman’s daughter who said an unidentified female had taken her mother’s vehicle and she was being held against her will.
Audio of 911 call from the 12-year-old:
The girl said the vehicle had been traveling east on Tipton Street and then turned north on Interstate 65.
The girl then stayed on the line with dispatchers as the vehicle traveled north on Interstate 65, Foster said.
He said the girl was able to provide landmarks to dispatchers, which eventually helped police locate the vehicle.
Officers with the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department and Columbus Police Department found and stopped the vehicle in the area of the 68-mile-marker in northern Bartholomew County. State troopers also arrived at the scene a short time later and assisted with the arrest of Lucas. The girl and her mother were reunited at the scene.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
