Boy safe, Amber Alert over after Mass./Conn. stolen car search

A missing 3-year-old boy who was the subject of an Amber Alert Friday morning was found safe at a hotel in Windsor, Connecticut, Massachusetts State Police said.

The man suspected of taking him from Chicopee, Massachusetts, was later found in custody, according to police. He's been identified as Vadim Vorobyov, a 52-year-old from Springfield.

Vorobyov faces charges in both Massachusetts and Connecticut, Massachusetts state troopers said: kidnapping, child endangerment and stealing a car in the former and kidnapping, child endangerment and fugitive from justice in the latter. He's being held on $2 million bail, Connecticut State Police said.

It wasn't immediately clear if Vorobyov had an attorney who could speak to the charges.

Investigators believe Vorobyov found the running car parked outside of a residence on Exchange Street in Chicopee, got in and drove away. Surveillance video shows the moment the car was taken.

UPDATE—We have the suspect in custody. Suspect was located at Any Time Fitness on Kennedy Road in Windsor. Investigation indicates he dropped the child off at the Rodeway Inn and then drove to the shopping plaza where he left the car. Hotel employees contacted police. #AMBERAlert

— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) March 29, 2024

UPDATE-Preliminary investigation suggests that at approximately 8:40 AM VOROBYOV came across the Toyota Camry as it was parked outside a residence on Exchange Street in Chicopee with the motor running and the child in the backseat. He entered the vehicle and drove away. https://t.co/9SRsjMrLVG

— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) March 29, 2024

The child was taken to a hospital to be evaluated but he appeared to be safe, according to Chicopee police spokesperson Travis Odiorne, who told reporters "I think you could probably hear a huge sigh of relief" when word reached the department that the boy had been found safe.

He also urged parents to "take the extra time, take your children out of the car with you" when getting out of the car, even if it's briefly — the child's mother called 911 to report the car missing after she'd briefly gotten out.

It wasn't yet clear if Vorobyov knew there was a child in the car or what happened before he dropped the boy off at the hotel.

How the Amber Alert incident played out in Chicopee, Mass., and Windsor, Conn.

The child was inside a red Toyota Camry stolen from Chicopee about 8:40 a.m. and headed toward Connecticut, according to police. The car had been unattended for about under a minute, Odiorne said.

An Amber Alert was issued about 10:30 a.m. Police said the boy was wearing all green, including a shirt with dinosaurs and eggs on it, while the suspected car thief was believed to be in his 50s, wearing black pants and black Crocs shoes.

The car was soon found outside a Stop & Shop supermarket in Windsor, but without either the boy or his suspected kidnapper inside. But staff at the Rodeway Inn, off Interstate 91 about a 10-minute drive from the Stop & Shop, contacted police to say they'd found the boy, according to police.

The Amber Alert was canceled, and minutes later, police said the suspect was taken into custody at a gym in the same shopping plaza as the Stop & Shop.

Chicopee police were spotted at the Windsor shopping plaza Friday morning.

The Amber Alert was issued to phones across the state, including in Boston.