VW Admits 'Serious Breach' Caused Delay In Tracking Stolen Car With Toddler Inside

Volkswagen admitted that a "serious breach" in their car tracking service caused a delay in locating a car that was stolen with a two-year-old inside, in Illinois. The tracking service provider asked for payment in advance before activating the tracking equipment, the Illinois sheriff's office said.

Deputies from the Lake County Sheriff's office responded to a residence on the report of a vehicle hijacking on Feb. 23 with a toddler still inside. Investigators determined that the child was abducted along with his mother's Volkswagen vehicle parked in the driveway when the woman went into the house with her other child and came back outside to get the boy, the Sheriff's office said in a news release.

The mother saw a white BMW pulling into the driveway behind her vehicle. An unidentified man got out of the BMW and knocked her to the ground before driving away with the child. The driver of the BMW also fled from the scene.

One of the vehicles ran over the 34-year-old woman, who is 6 months pregnant, causing "serious injuries to her extremities." She remains in serious but stable condition at a hospital, police said, as reported by NBC News.

The Sheriff's office immediately contacted Volkswagen Car-Net, the company's car net support services, for assistance in finding the SUV and the child. However, the tracking service company reportedly said it "would not track the vehicle with the abducted child until they received payment to reactivate the tracking device in the stolen Volkswagen."

The child was later found in a parking lot in Waukegan, a city about 10 miles northeast of Libertyville after a person called 911 reporting the driver of one of the vehicles abandoning the small child. However, it is unclear how long the officials took to find the child.

The officers also located the stolen Volkswagen in a parking lot in Waukegan. However, they continue to search for the BMW which was reported stolen from a car dealership in Waukegan last week.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen admitted that a "serious breach" in the process had occurred with their car net support services in connection with the incident.

"Volkswagen has a procedure in place with a third-party provider for Car-Net Support Services involving emergency requests from law enforcement. They have executed this process successfully in previous incidents. Unfortunately, in this instance, there was a serious breach of the process. We are addressing the situation with the parties involved," Volkswagen said in a statement as per NBC News.