How Good Samaritans Saved Boy In Tuesday's Amber Alert

LONG BEACH, CA — When two young women got an amber alert on their phone Tuesday night, they didn't hesitate to get up and go look for the kidnapped 4-year-old boy.

Just under three hours after the toddler, Justin Chan, was reported missing the women called 911 to alert police that they believed they found him near The Pike Outlets shopping mall in Long Beach.

"We got an Amber Alert on our phone and we decided to start looking," one of the women, Reagan Dunn, told ABC7. "We started driving around, it was 10 minutes. Our route ended, and we decided to keep looking.

Dunn said her friend was driving "and I glanced over. I was like, wait I just saw a gray Honda Accord, and I saw 8XP, which was the license plate."

The Huntington Beach resident said her friend turned around and parked, and Dunn called 911.

"We ran across the street and the license plate matched up," she said.

Justin was reported kidnapped in his parent's car in Long Beach near Linden Avenue and 1st Street at about 5:46 p.m.

According to police, his parent stepped outside and away from the car while leaving the engine running, giving a man the opportunity to get inside and drive off with Justin strapped inside. The CHP issued an Amber Alert, prompting law enforcement throughout the area to be on the lookout for the gray 2021 Honda Accord.

See Related: Amber Alert: Kidnapped 4-Year-Old Boy Found Safe: Reports

Justin was found at about 8:10 p.m. unharmed and was reunited with his parents.

"The vehicle was located by two Good Samaritans who found the car and immediately called 9-1-1. We would like to thank them for this act of heroism in finding this young boy," the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement.

After the vehicle was located, police were able to find security footage and used the video to pinpoint the suspect's direction of travel after he abandoned the car at the outlet mall.

Police successfully located the suspect near Pine Avenue and Shoreline Drive and took him into custody. The suspect was identified as 34-year-old Timothy Wood, who was experiencing homelessness according to LBPD.

Wook was booked on suspicion of kidnapping, child endangerment and vehicle theft and his bail was set at $100,000. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

City News Service contributed to this report.