Selden woman charged after person drives off in her running car with a 7-year-old asleep in the backseat

A Selden woman whose car was stolen on Christmas Day — with a 7-year-old sleeping in the backseat — was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, Riverhead police said.

The 39-year-old woman parked her 2016 Ford Fusion on Monday in front of Riverhead Stationery on Main Street shortly after 11 p.m., according to police, who said the woman left the car running with the heat on because the child was asleep in the backseat.

While the she was in the store, police said, an unknown person got into the car and drove off with the child. Riverhead, Southampton and New York State Police conducted a search and found the Ford Fusion in Flanders. The 7-year-old was sleeping, unharmed, in the backseat.

The thief took off before police arrived and has not been found, despite a Suffolk Police K-9 unit search of the area.

The Selden woman was charged with endangering the welfare of a child for leaving the 7-year-old in an unlocked, running vehicle. The woman’s name has not been released to protect the identity of the child. She was given a desk ticket and ordered to appear in Riverhead Justice Court on Jan. 8.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500.