A woman is behind bars after she tried to take a couple's baby from their shopping cart in a Santee parking lot on Monday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The couple was walking back to their car near the 100 block of Town Center Parkway, close to a Costco and other businesses, just before 6 p.m. when the suspect tried to pull the baby out of the cart multiple times, deputies said.
After several failed attempts, thanks to the lap belt securing the baby in the cart, the woman ran away and the parents called 911. The baby was not hurt, according to deputies.
The sheriff's department launched its ASTREA helicopter to assist in the search for the suspect but she could not be found.
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Tuesday evening, at around 7:30 p.m., deputy detectives arrested 31-year-old Isela Ortega in Chula Vista in connection with the incident. She was booked into the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility on one charge of attempted kidnapping.
Anyone with information can call the Santee SDSO station at (619) 956-4000 or leave an anonymous tip with San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
