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2-Sep-19 – A car thief got more than he bargained for when he stole an idling car from in front of a popular River North fast food restaurant on Saturday afternoon.

He also got two children who were in the back seat. The kids are ok, but the thief remains at large.

Police said a 29-year-old woman left her car running outside a “food establishment” in the 100 block of West Ontario Street while she went inside at around 3:50 p.m. When she came back out, her car and her kids were gone.

Multiple sources identified the restaurant as Portillo’s.

Officers searched the area and found the woman’s gray Nissan Maxima abandoned under the L tracks at 641 North Franklin Street shortly after 4 p.m. The children, ages three weeks and seven years, were examined by an ambulance crew as a precaution. No medical attention was needed, a police spokesperson said.

Investigators learned that video of the auto theft was captured by security cameras at the McDonald’s at 600 North Clark Street. The video showed the thief enter the passenger side of the woman’s car, climb into the driver’s seat, and drive away westbound on Ontario Street, an officer said.

The thief was described as a black male who wore yellow shoes, acid wash jeans, and a black hoodie that has a white graphic design on the front. CPD camera footage showed the man running north on Franklin Street after he dumped the car. Another camera recorded him running northwest through a parking lot at West Erie & North Orleans moments later.

Chicago Police Department

Area Central detectives are investigating.

(Left) Surveillance image shows the man fleeing the area.