Child returns to parents after found sleeping in stolen vehicle

A Kalispell-area transient was arrested Sunday after he allegedly stole a vehicle in Hungry Horse, only to discover a 2-year-old child sleeping in the back seat. He dropped the child off with construction workers at a nearby gas station and left in the vehicle, which he later crashed as officers pursued him.

The suspect is identified as 22-year-old Isaiah Lee Maura. He was transported to the Flathead County Detention Center and charged with theft, kidnapping and criminal endangerment.

The Flathead 911 Emergency Communications Center received a call at 10:42 a.m. on Sunday from one of the construction workers at a Zip Trip on U.S. 2 in Hungry Horse. The construction worker reported a man had just dropped off the child, asking they “get him back to his parents,” according to a press release from Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

A short time later, the stolen vehicle was reported missing by a caller at the Hungry Horse Chapel located at 8664 U.S. 2. The caller reportedly said they were taking items into the church and had left their child sleeping in the back seat of the car. When they returned, the vehicle and the child were gone.

The uninjured child was returned to his parents.

Information about the stolen vehicle was broadcast in an attempt to locate it. A Columbia Falls Police officer observed the stolen vehicle driving on U.S. 2 in Columbia Falls near Super 1 Foods. As the officer attempted to stop the vehicle, it crashed into another car. No one was injured and the suspect was taken into custody without incident.

The incident remains under investigation by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.