Florida woman accused of kidnapping after stealing a car with two children inside

Two kids were in the car stole by a woman in Sebring, Florida, and now she has been charged with kidnapping, according to police. 

The mother of the children was inside a local Subway at the time. She told deputies she parked the vehicle where she could see it and left it running.

The mom didn’t see anyone get into the car, but saw it leaving the parking lot, according to WFLA 8.

Inside the car were the woman’s two boys, ages 2 years old and 6 months old.

Authorities say that the suspect, Shauna Marie McGraw, 36, was aware that the children were in the car when she boosted it. 

McGraw told deputies that she had an argument with her fiancé while at an adjacent Shell station and needed to “get away,” according to the report obtained by WFLA 8.

The suspect drove a short distance, then abandoned the vehicle and the children behind an area business. The children were not harmed during the theft.

Nakeem Brown, a Walmart loss prevention officer who used to work for the sheriff’s office, saw McGraw running on the highway. He notified police and followed her until they arrived and arrested her, according to WFLA 8.

“I want to thank Nakeem Brown for his assistance,” said Sheriff Paul Blackman. “Not only did he call us when he saw the suspect, he went above and beyond and followed her, leading deputies to her location. The deputies of Charlie Squad did a great job of responding to this and resolving it so quickly, and I am very proud of the work they did.”

McGraw was charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm and one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle.