A mother says she experienced her "worst nightmare" when she left her 3-year-old in a car and came back to find both missing.
Michelle Dourley rushed into the Baby Exchange on Lake Murray Boulevard at about 2:15 p.m., bringing her infant along.
"My 3-year-old had fallen asleep so I thought I would run in for a quick second and come out," said Dourley. "And when I came out, my car was gone with my son inside."
Dourley initially believed the car had been stolen and then abandoned when the suspect realized there was a child in the back seat, La Mesa police say.
"I was terrified. It's, I think, a mother's worst nightmare to come out and not have your son be there. I mean, the car's replaceable, but not my child," said Dourley.
But police say the BMW rolled backward out of the parking space. Dourley said said found that odd since she had turned it off and the car was in drive when she found it.
