Cop’s Body Camera Shows The Dramatic Moment He Rescued An Abducted Toddler [Video]

Footage from an Albuquerque police officer’s body camera shows the dramatic moment he rescued a toddler that had been abducted hours earlier, KOAT (Albuquerque) is reporting.

At about 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night (January 2), 3-year-old Caraline Leon-Alcocar was inside a car in parking lot at an Albuquerque grocery store. Her mother said she “turned around briefly” to run an errand, and the next thing she knew, the car was gone, with Caraline inside.

Officer Simon Drobik of the Albuquerque Police Department said that when a car is stolen and a child is inside, it’s a “worst-case scenario.”

“The nightmare came true.”

The stolen car was found a short time later, without Caraline inside. Police issued an Amber Alert.

About five hours after the car was stolen, APD Officer Chris Poccia found the missing girl in a parking lot at Indian School Road and San Mateo Boulevards, about three miles away.

Officer Poccia has served time in the Marine Corps, and specialized in searches. His experience came in handy in searching the streets of Albuquerque for the missing toddler.

Drobik described Caraline as “a small purple dot in a sea of concrete.”

Poccia said that when he first saw the girl, he was afraid of what he might find, considering the weather (the overnight low in Albuquerque that night was 25 degrees, according to Time and Date).

“Due to the temperature and the time, when I first saw it, I was afraid that it was going to be a tragic scene, and thankfully it wasn’t.”

On Officer Poccia’s body camera, the cop can be seen running toward the shivering toddler and picking her up. The hardened city cop then admitted that he cried after he rescued the girl.

“I’ll be honest, on my way home I started crying, too. I was just very happy and thankful that we were able to find her.”

Caraline was cold and scared, but otherwise OK. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was reunited with her mother.

Poccia refused to take credit for the girl’s rescue, saying that his colleagues in the APD deserve just as much credit as he does.

“I would say that it was a group effort and a team effort, and I just happened to be the one that found her.”

Police are now turning their attention to Caraline’s abductor. As of this writing, he has not been identified, and Albuquerque police have very little in the way of evidence. Grainy security camera footage from the scene appears to show a male of about 25- to 30-years-old, about 5 feet 11 inches tall, with a medium to heavy build. Caraline’s mother described the abductor as “Hispanic,” according to KOB-TV (Albuquerque).

Another person can be seen in the video speaking to the subject. Cops would like to talk to him, as well.

Officer Drobik has some pointed words for the little girl’s abductor.

“This guy is a real scumbag for doing that. This is just another one of those crazy calls that you never want to get … It’s unbelievable that another human being would do that to a child. ‘How dare you?’ I’m telling this individual direct, how dare you do this?”

Albuquerque police have been using body cameras since 2012, according to the ACLU. Despite the Department’s use of body cameras, however, the APD has continually dealt with allegations that its officers use deadly force with no imminent danger to the officers, or use less-than-lethal, but still excessive, force when it’s not necessary, according to a 2014 Justice Department report.

Police are asking anyone who may have information about Caraline’s abductor to call the APD tip line at 505-242-COPS

[Photo by George Frey/Getty Images]