Police arrested a 29-year-old woman Sunday night in the abduction of a Sunnyvale toddler that prompted an Amber Alert, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety confirmed Monday morning.
Luong Tammy Huynh was arrested at her San Jose home on suspicion of kidnapping and other charges after police say she stole a vehicle with 1-year-old Jacob Jardine inside early Sunday morning.
The crime prompted police to issue a Bay Area-wide Amber Alert.
Jacob was later found safe in the 2008 Buick Enclave, and officers also found surveillance video implicating Huynh as the suspect, police said.
Huynh returned to her residence on Florence Avenue in San Jose at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, and she was detained by San Jose officers, police said. Sunnyvale officers responded and arrested Huynh.
Huyhn declined to talk to NBC Bay Area, but police said they talked to her and revealed several details regarding the incident.
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She told officers she jumped in the child's mother's car outside the Travel Inn in Sunnyvale just after 4 a.m. Sunday without knowing Jacob was inside the car.
"She decided to find a remote parking area and decided t sleep in the car. The car eventually ran out of gas. She said it stopped running," explained Sunnyvale PD's Craig Anderson.
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Approximately 12 hours after that, an officer spotted the car Sunday night in a parking lot on Oakmed Parkway. Huyhn was gone and the child was still inside.
Police say Huyhn was visiting a friend when the crime went down. They also say Jacob's mom was unloading groceries from her SUV when the vehicle was taken.
Amber Rollins from Kids and Cars said these crimes are "totally preventable."
"One just never leaves a child alone in a vehicle," she said.
Her group has informally tracked 56 such incidents nationwide this year alone.
"These are crimes of opportunity," she said. "You could easily prevent them by a few simple habits that you get into. Lock your doors. Keep the keys with you."
Police say there is no evidence that Jacob was fed during the 12 hour ordeal.
Huynh was booked into Santa Clara County jail on charges of kidnapping, child endangerment and vehicle theft, police said.
