Gardaí update their manhunt for hijacker of car containing baby girl

Gardaí have released an update on their manhunt for the hijacker that stole a family car with a five-month-old baby inside it.

At around 3:15pm yesterday afternoon (Monday, September 23), authorities launched an appeal for a missing Silver Nissan Qashqai Hatchback, which had been last seen in the Mountjoy Square area of Dublin City Centre at approximately 1:50pm.

A short time later, Gardaí shared the alarming update that a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) Alert had been launched for a five-month-old baby girl, who was in the car at the time of the hijacking.

It has been reported that the infant’s mother had just stepped out of the car at the time that it was hijacked, and that the suspect did not know that the baby was in the car.

Thankfully, the CRI Alert was cancelled at around 4:15pm, when the little girl was found safe and well on North Richmond Street. Reports have since noted that the suspect tried to use the mother’s bank card at a nearby service station.

Now, almost 24 hours on from the traumatising incident, Gardaí have launched an official manhunt for the hijacker with a public description of him.

In a media briefing, Superintendent Liam Geraghty confirmed that the suspect had been identified through CCTV as being a 47-year-old male, who is understood to have suffered from addiction and homelessness in recent times. He also has previous convictions for burglary and car theft.

“The suspect in this case is best described at this stage as a white, middle aged male wearing dark clothing and a baseball cap,” Mr Geraghty explained.

Describing the ordeal as “a very traumatic time” for the young girl’s parents, he added: “Thankfully, they were all reunited together shortly after 4pm.”

When asked if the suspect had any prior connections to the baby girl or her family, Mr Geraghty shared: “To the best of our knowledge there’s no connection between the suspect and the family.”

As their investigation continues, Gardaí continue to believe that the incident was an opportunistic crime.