Car with Baby inside Goes Missing, Dad Finds It Mile Away With Note in Child Seat – Story of the Day

John was determined to enjoy a peaceful weekend with his young son, away from the drama of his failing marriage. All his plans fall apart when someone steals his car with his son inside it.

"We're going to have a nice, quiet weekend at Grandma's," John said as he secured his son, Max, in his car seat. "No shouting or fighting. Sound good?"

Max babbled and bonked his toy bison against the car seat. John couldn't help but smile. It was good to see him happy. Although John knew Max was too young to understand what was said during John's fights with his mother, Anna, he worried what it might be doing to Max's mental development.

"And hey, Grandma said she knows a guy who might give me a job," John continued as he pulled out of the driveway. He glanced back at the house he shared with Anna. "Let's pray he does, Max, so we can get out of here."

Anna had raised the topic of divorce first. They'd had another argument about John's failure to secure a new job, and Anna threatened to take Max and disappear.

"We'll be gone one day, and your only memory of Max will be his name on the divorce papers, saying I have full custody," she'd threatened.

Chills ran down John's spine as he recalled Anna's cruel grin when she spoke that day. It was a wake-up call, the moment he truly accepted he'd married a monster.

Tension knotted John's shoulders while he drove. Anna had told him she intended to have fun this weekend while he and Max were away. Knowing she'd be distracted was a relief to John, but the thought of her haunted him like an iron maiden about to snap shut.

He'd divorce Anna in a heartbeat if he knew for certain a court would grant him custody of Max. It seemed unlikely, however, since he didn't have a job.

"If I could just prove how unstable Anna is." John sighed. Once before, he'd taken photos of the things she'd broken in one of her rages and even recorded her screaming and cussing at Max when he messed food on her dress.

All that evidence was destroyed when Anna smashed his phone with a hammer. She'd heard him tell his mom he loved her during a call, accused him of cheating, and obliterated his phone.

John took deep breaths to calm himself and spared a moment to admire the tall pines growing on one side of the road. It didn't last long. When John took the next turn, an odd clicking from the engine caught his attention.

"That didn't sound good." There was a gas station a few miles further down the road. John resolved to stop there to see if he could locate the source of that sound.

"You ought to check the oil more regularly." The brusque man at the gas station who'd helped John with his car slammed the hood shut. "Whole engine can seize up if you run it dry."

"I do check it regularly," John replied, but the man rolled his eyes and walked away.

John looked at his car and shook his head. Hadn't he checked the oil just last week? He hadn't noticed any signs of an oil leak, so what was happening?

"At least it's fixed now." He sighed and drove over to the pumps to fill up on gas. "Another twenty minutes, and we'll be at Grandma's," he said to Max. "I hope you're ready to get spoiled rotten, little man."

Panic pounded through John's veins. He glanced at Sid, who had a sick smile on his face, and then at Max...John had to do something to save him.

Max was too sleepy to do more than mumble. John was heading inside to pay when he heard another awful sound—someone was starting his car!

"Hey!" John sprinted toward his car as it pulled away from the pump. "Max!"

Tires squealed as his car accelerated quickly into the traffic. John watched in horror as a pick-up swerved to avoid colliding with his sedan. Horns hooted, and brakes shrieked. There was nothing John could do but watch as the thief sped away with his son.

John immediately reported the theft and kidnapping to the police, but he couldn't sit idly by and wait for them to find Max. He had to do something, anything. John set off along the road in the direction of the thieves. After jogging for a mile, he saw something that made him break into a sprint.

Slippery pine needles made him lose footing as he ran to his car. He scrambled on hands and knees to grab the door and tugged it open. Max was gone.

"No, no, God, no!" John climbed into the back to search through the blankets tucked around the car seat, just in case. That's how he discovered the ransom note.

'Go to the abandoned cafe on the corner of Park and Jefferson at 6 p.m. if you want your son to live. If you call the cops, you'll never see him again.'

John pressed the note to his chest and wept. What should he do? After months of joblessness, he only had about a hundred dollars in his bank account. Could he sell his car? What about his house?

A faint scent lingered in the car, something musky and familiar. John climbed out and looked along the road in both directions. He had to do something. For half a second, he contemplated calling Anna but quickly dismissed the thought. Nothing she'd do would improve this situation, but somebody else might be able to help him.

John climbed into the driver's seat and started the car.

"So, you want me to stay on the line while you talk to the kidnappers? I don't know about this, John."

"Please, Mark. I can't call the cops." John spoke as he drove toward the abandoned cafe. He'd called his friend, Mark, to help him because he knew he was level-headed and reliable. "But if things go bad, you can."

"Okay, man." Mark sighed. "I'll do whatever it takes to help you get Max back."

He looked at his son's red cheeks and sorrowful eyes and felt his heart break. Would he ever see his beautiful child again?

John pulled into the parking lot outside the cafe. He put his phone in his jacket pocket and cautiously approached the entrance. Several windows were boarded up, but the chain that once kept the doors shut lay on the cement.

"Hello?" John stepped inside. Two figures moved on the far side of the open space, but John couldn't make them out until one of them turned on a flashlight.

"Hi, John. So glad you came." Anna grinned at him as she sashayed to the tall man beside a stroller. "I'd like you to meet Max's new daddy."

John stared in shock as Anna kissed the tall man. The spell was broken when Max started crying. John glanced at his son, whose face was crumpled into an unhappy expression. Now he realized what he'd smelled in the car! It was Anna's expensive perfume.

"This kid just doesn't shut up!" Anna grimaced and rolled her eyes. "You've spoiled him, John. Luckily, Sid here has a much more practical approach to parenting. He doesn't believe in sparing the rod."

"You took Max?" John's voice quivered as he spoke. "But why? Is this just your latest idea to hurt me, Anna?"

Anna giggled. "No, although I hoped your car would be ruined when I drained the oil from it. I'm done with you, John. Unfortunately, there's the teensy problem of paperwork." She slapped a folder down on one of the cafe tables.

"This is how this is going to work, John. You're going to sign these divorce papers, and I'm going to leave here with Sid and Max."

"No! I'll sign the papers if you want, but leave Max with me."

"Never!" Anna thumped her fist against the table. "Sid is going to care for both of us way better than you ever could. Make no mistake, you lazy good-for-nothing, I'm leaving you one way or another. If you don't sign these papers, we're going to take off anyway."

Panic pounded through John's veins. He glanced at Sid, who had a sick smile on his face, and then at Max. Anna had startled him, and he was now red-faced and bawling his eyes out. John had to do something to save him.

"You never told me your kid was such a vibe-kill." Sid frowned down at the stroller.

"Shove a pacifier in his mouth or something."

Anna kept her gaze fixed on John as she spoke. He felt like a rabbit frozen before the wolf.

"He's upset." John slowly walked closer. "If you'd let me hold him, I could—"

"You'll run off." Anna rolled her eyes. "I wasn't born yesterday. Max will shut up eventually," she said to Sid. "Just ignore him."

"He might need his diaper changed." John looked Sid in the eye. He thought he might be able to convince him and Anna to leave Max with him. "You should check. Just lean over and smell."

"I ain't doing that." Sid stepped away from the stroller and turned to Anna. "Do we really have to take the brat with us? We'll have a lot more fun if it's just the two of us, baby."

"I want to keep him," Anna pouted. "I'm the one who had to carry him around in my body. He's mine, and I don't give up what's mine."

John needed to change tactics. Sid had moved away from the stroller now, so John might be able to grab Max if he got close enough. He grabbed a chair lying on the floor and threw it at the table where Anna had placed the divorce papers. When Anna and Sid recoiled, John dashed to grab Max.

As he lifted his son from the stroller, a hand closed around John's bicep. He hugged Max closer and tried to wriggle out of Sid's grasp. Something smacked into his leg hard enough to bring John to his knees, and then hands were wrestling Max from his grasp.

"I love you, Max," John muttered. He looked at his son's red cheeks and sorrowful eyes and felt his heart break. Would he ever see his beautiful child again?

"Police! Put your hands in the air, and don't move!"

John looked up at the police officers bursting into the cafe through a blur of tears. He heard Anna scream and watched one of the officers tackle Sid to the ground when he tried to flee. John rocked his son in his arms as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Thanks, Mark," John said. "You're a lifesaver."

"Just glad they got there in time, bro," Mark replied.

Anna and Sid were arrested for kidnapping. Additional charges were added later when it turned out that Sid was involved in some suspicious activities. Even though he knew Anna was behind bars, John couldn't bear the thought of returning to the house he shared with her.

He sold the house and temporarily moved back in with his mother. She was very happy to have him and Max in her home, especially when she found out what he endured on his way to visit her.

"Just focus on putting it behind you now," she said one day. "My friend Theodore will be here tomorrow. He wants to retire and desperately needs to hire someone to manage his business. He's eager to meet you, John."

John just nodded. He was feeding Max some applesauce and, honestly, was too traumatized by everything that happened with Anna to think about work. Part of him wanted to build a cabin in the woods and disappear forever with Max.

Nonetheless, he met with Theodore and discussed his previous job as a restaurant manager. The man was impressed by John's skills and offered him the job. A few months later, John filed for divorce and received full custody of Max.

What can we learn from this story?

• Never ignore a red flag. Anna displayed frightening behavior before threatening to divorce John and take Max away. Although he felt stuck, John should've planned to leave Anna the first time she mistreated him.
• The child's best interests should always come first. Never allow children to become tools to manipulate the other parent or a bargaining chip.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who has to flee her home when a man seeking revenge knocks on her door.

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