LARGO, Fla. — A child who was in the back seat of a truck stolen from a Wawa gas station in Largo has been found safe, according to Largo Police. The suspect who stole the truck has also been found and arrested.
- Theft took place at Wawa on Ulmerton Road
- Family visiting from South Carolina
- Child was dropped off at a Pinellas Park hotel, truck found in Tampa
- More Pinellas County stories
Investigators say the family stopped at the Wawa location at 8910 Ulmerton Road to gas up before heading home to South Carolina. The parents of the 7-year-old child left the child in their truck while they went inside the gas station, at which time the suspect, identified as Adam Vachon, 23, got into the truck and fled the location.
The child's father jumped into another family member's vehicle and tried to give chase, but was unable to catch up.
Investigators said Vachon ended up dropping off the child at a hotel in Pinellas Park, instructing him to go inside and call his mother. The child was found unharmed.
The truck was eventually located thanks to a GPS device in the child's watch, which was still in the vehicle. A ping sent to the device located it at an apartment complex located on Lois Avenue in Tampa.
The truck was recovered at the apartment complex unoccupied. Vachon was found sleeping in an entertainment room at the same location.
He agreed to return to Largo with investigators and later admitted to the theft. He was arrested and charged with kidnapping and grand theft auto.
Adam Vachon. (Courtesy of Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)
