A 6-year-old child was inside a car stolen Monday morning from a Walmart fuel center in Crowley, and the frantic search that followed ended with an arrest in Fort Worth after officers tracked the vehicle using automated camera technology. Police say the child was found unharmed and safely reunited with family, while the man accused of taking the car now faces a kidnapping charge among several others.
According to WFAA, Crowley police officers were called to a reported vehicle theft at the Walmart fuel center on East FM 1187, where a caller reported that the stolen vehicle had a 6-year-old child inside. Officers used Flock cameras to track the vehicle as it headed north into Fort Worth, eventually locating it in the 1200 block of West Spurgeon Street.
The man accused of taking the car, 23-year-old Manuel Hernandez of Haltom City, fled on foot once officers closed in, the outlet reported. He was arrested near La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth. Police said the child was found unharmed and safely reunited with family, bringing a quick and relatively tense morning to a close for everyone involved except Hernandez, who remained in custody at the Crowley Police Department.
Charges Stack Up Against Haltom City Man
Hernandez faces multiple charges stemming from the incident: theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, kidnapping, and possession of a controlled substance, per the same WFAA report. Crowley police described the case as an isolated incident and said there is no threat to the public, while noting the investigation remains ongoing.
The rapid resolution of the case leaned heavily on license plate reading technology. Crowley police have used Flock Safety automated license plate readers, according to data obtained in July 2025 by the Atlas of Surveillance, the kind of camera network that allowed officers to follow the stolen vehicle's path across jurisdiction lines into Fort Worth within the same morning.
What Remains Unconfirmed
Several details about the case have not been made public. It is not known whether the vehicle belonged to the child's family, nor has the make or model of the car been disclosed. The specific controlled substance involved in Hernandez's drug charge, along with any alleged quantity, has also not been released. No booking number, bond amount, or court date has been announced, and there has been no statement from Hernandez, an attorney representing him, or the child's family.
