Mareeba crime: Family car stolen on Tablelands with kid in back seat

A Tablelands family has been rattled after their car was stolen from a busy town street while a teenage girl was still buckled up in the back seat.

A Tablelands family’s car has been stolen with a teenage girl still buckled up in the back seat.

The terrifying ordeal unfolded on Lloyd St outside the Mareeba Medical Clinic on Monday at 4.45pm.

Mr Ali, who asked for his full name to be withheld, said his wife was in the process of loading his five-year-old son into their Nissan Dualis after a medical appointment when she noticed a young man on a push bike loitering in the area.

As she started the car and turned her back for a moment to pick up her son, the alleged thief made his move.

The alleged car thief staked out the car on an alleged stolen bike and upgraded to a Nissan Dualis on Monday afternoon. Picture: Supplied

“A guy ran up and jumped in the car and started reversing it and my daughter was still in the back,” he said.

Mr Ali said his 16-year-old daughter escaped the moving vehicle just before the thief sped off.

It was alleged by Mr Ali another group were seen on Byrnes St in a dark grey sedan waving to the unknown man behind the wheel of the Nissan.

The car of a Mareeba family was stolen while their daughter was in a passenger seat. Picture: Supplied

Mr Ali said his wife’s bank cards and all of her keys were in the car when it was stolen.

The Mareeba father said the ordeal had also taken a toll on his eldest child.

“It is shocking,” he said.

“And it was very hard for her, she became very worried and annoyed and we could not sleep all night thinking about the bad situation.

“Normally you think this might happen on a lonely road at night time but it happened in a busy street in front of the medical centre.”

Mr Ali said he had spotted his wife’s car around Mareeba on Monday night and he alleged thieves filled up at the Mobil servo and drove off without paying.

On Tuesday afternoon the vehicle was still missing.

Police told the Cairns Post investigations into the alleged theft were ongoing and anyone with information or relevant vision is urged to contact police.

Also in Mareeba, several teens were accused of stealing a white Toyota Hilux stolen from an Amaroo house on February 14.

The Cairns police helicopter was used to track a Hilux stolen from Mareeba before officers arrested the alleged thief who absconded from the vehicle into bushland. Picture: Queensland Police

Police allege a group of four teenagers drove the vehicle dangerously around Mareeba before a dramatic chase through parkland near the Mareeba Leagues Club all captured by the police chopper.

The Cairns police helicopter was used to track a Hilux stolen from Mareeba before officers arrested the alleged thief who absconded from the vehicle into bushland. Picture: Queensland Police

Police vision shows the Hilux being dumped and a man running towards Granite Creek where he was cornered by police officers and taken into custody.

A 17-year-old Manoora boy, a 15-year-old Tully girl, a 16-year-old Mareeba boy and a 16-year-old Innisfail boy were all charged with various offences including unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

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Originally published as Mareeba crime: Family car stolen on Tablelands with kid in back seat