“I Got the Baby”: The rescue of a 2-year-old caught on camera from a Michigan school bus

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) – The rescue of a 2-year-old who was in a vehicle when it was stolen and abandoned on the side of the road earlier this week was caught by school bus security cameras.

The vehicle was stolen in Kentwood, Michigan around 8:10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Kentwood Police Department.

Dave Skinner, a bus driver for Kelloggsville Public Schools, was passing the area when he was pulled over by parents who said their child was in a vehicle when it was stolen.

“They yelled at me that someone stole their car with their baby in it,” Skinner said. “So I immediately called 911.”

After relaying the information to dispatch, Skinner went on the radio to let the other bus drivers know that a vehicle with a child in it had been stolen.

Another Kelloggsville Public Schools bus driver, Sue Figueroa, quickly realized that she had just passed a boy wrapped in a blanket in a driveway.

In the surveillance video, Figueroa can be seen circumnavigating her bus, getting off and rescuing the 2-year-old.

“I have the baby,” she said over the radio after putting the boy on the bus.

“Oh dear God. Thank you. Thank you,” someone on the other end of the radio says.

The two-year-old is placed in one of the seats on the bus and Figueroa drives him back to his parents.

When they arrive, they are seen yelling from the bus doors, “Mom, is this your baby?” as his parents run up.

District transportation director Kristen Nickelson said Skinner and Figueroa are “heroes” and she is proud to work with them.

“It could have been worse. … This mother was so scared and I just can’t imagine what it would have been like not knowing where your baby was,” she said.

Skinner said he was just doing his job.

“I don’t know if we’re heroes,” Skinner said. “The drivers are very attentive to all the children in the neighborhood while we pick them up. And if they see anything weird or strange, they quickly pick up the radio and call back.”

He added: “I’m just glad her child is safe at home. Cars are replaceable. But I’m glad her kid is home. It was a good day and a good result.”

Police say the stolen vehicle was soon found in Grand Rapids. Officers were unable to find a suspect.