Losing a child is a mother's worst nightmare -- a nightmare that became a reality for one Brownwood mom.
"We walked outside and then we realized that the car wasn't there and then it registered that my son was in the car still," says Lacy Lunceford.
It's a parent's worst nightmare.
Lunceford says, "I kinda thought it was a joke. Maybe my sister had come back while I was gone."
But it wasn't a joke. It was very real. A car thief had stolen Lacy Lunceford's car from in front of her sister's home. Her little boy was inside the vehicle.
"I didn't cry until I actually realized oh my God, my son's gone," adds Lunceford.
Lunceford says she was dropping off a birthday gift at her sister's house. Her son, 20 month old Landry, had fallen asleep in his car seat. So Lunceford left him in the running vehicle. It was just a quick run in and out, no more than 3 minutes. But that's all it took.
Lunceford says, "It just seemed so fake and so not real that I just didn't know how to act."
Police were called and Lunceford's car was found about 15 minutes later, just down the road in a Hasting's parking lot. Little Landry, safe and seated tight. And the suspect, nowhere to be found.
"I've had people tell me, are you okay? Are you okay? But I don't feel like I should be mad. I think he'll get what's coming to him, whoever it is. But I don't have a reason to be mad at him because it was a good result. It could have been a lot worse," says Lunceford.
"We walked outside and then we realized that the car wasn't there and then it registered that my son was in the car still," says Lacy Lunceford.
It's a parent's worst nightmare.
Lunceford says, "I kinda thought it was a joke. Maybe my sister had come back while I was gone."
But it wasn't a joke. It was very real. A car thief had stolen Lacy Lunceford's car from in front of her sister's home. Her little boy was inside the vehicle.
"I didn't cry until I actually realized oh my God, my son's gone," adds Lunceford.
Lunceford says she was dropping off a birthday gift at her sister's house. Her son, 20 month old Landry, had fallen asleep in his car seat. So Lunceford left him in the running vehicle. It was just a quick run in and out, no more than 3 minutes. But that's all it took.
Lunceford says, "It just seemed so fake and so not real that I just didn't know how to act."
Police were called and Lunceford's car was found about 15 minutes later, just down the road in a Hasting's parking lot. Little Landry, safe and seated tight. And the suspect, nowhere to be found.
"I've had people tell me, are you okay? Are you okay? But I don't feel like I should be mad. I think he'll get what's coming to him, whoever it is. But I don't have a reason to be mad at him because it was a good result. It could have been a lot worse," says Lunceford.
