Staff Reports
A 12-year-old girl used her cell phone to help police capture a woman who took the vehicle the girl was waiting in outside a Seymour store.
Shawna L. Lucas, 28, of Seymour faces preliminary charges of auto theft, a Level 6 felony, and criminal confinement, a Level 5 felony, in connection with the Tuesday incident reported by the girl’s mother at 9:31 p.m. at Dollar General, 1224 E. Tipton St., in Seymour.
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 woman had taken her mother’s vehicle and she was being held against her will.
The girl said the vehicle had been traveling east on Tipton Street in Seymour and then turned north on Interstate 65.
The girl then stayed on the line with dispatchers as the vehicle, reported as a black Dodge Durango, traveled north on the interstate, Foster said.
He said the girl was able to provide landmarks to dispatchers, which eventually helped police locate the vehicle.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Deputy Andrew Whipker was at the I-65 mile marker just south of Columbus, mile marker 67, when he saw the Durango traveling north on the interstate, deputies said.
Whipker stopped the vehicle and identified Lucas, who also gave an address in Hope, and found the juvenile in the rear passenger seat, deputies said. The 12-year-old told Whipker she was not hurt.
The juvenile told deputies she was in the car waiting for her mother who had gone into the Seymour store when Lucas entered the vehicle and drove it away.
The victim said she told Lucas that she was in the backseat, but Lucas replied that she “had to get away from someone who had just killed multiple people,” an allegation later determined to be unfounded.
Additional deputies and Columbus police went to the scene to assist, along with the Indiana State Police. The girl and her mother were reunited at the scene on I-65 when Seymour police transported the mother there.
During interviews with police, Lucas admitted she took the vehicle and knew there was a child inside, Foster said.
He said Wednesday that police continue to investigate Lucas’ motive for taking the vehicle.
“Fortunately, we had a positive outcome,” said Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers. “Multiple agencies and dispatch worked well together to recover this missing child quickly and safely,” Myers said.
He cautioned, however, that “as parents, we take a risk anytime we leave a child alone in a motor vehicle, no matter how briefly.”
Lucas was booked into the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown at 1:03 a.m. Wednesday and being held without bond pending her initial hearing in Jackson Circuit Court. Criminal confinement is punishable by one to six years in prison if convicted.
The incident was initially investigated by Seymour Officer Joshua Daniel, who was assisted by Seymour Sgt. Brian Moore and Officer Crystal Schapson.
