Shreveport, LA – A stolen vehicle incident led to a citywide search in Shreveport on the night of January 31, 2025, after authorities learned that a one-year-old child was inside the car when it was taken.
At approximately 8:01 p.m., Shreveport Police Department (SPD) officers responded to the call and were informed that the child had been left in the running vehicle while the mother briefly went inside her residence to retrieve coats. The vehicle was stolen during this time.
SPD detectives and multiple officers immediately launched a coordinated search effort. Within an hour, at approximately 9:00 p.m., an officer working an extra-duty assignment at Wal-Mart on East Bert Kouns radioed in that the child had been found unharmed in the store’s parking lot. Shreveport Fire Department personnel arrived on the scene and confirmed the child was safe.
The investigation continued as officers searched for the stolen vehicle, which was soon located in the parking lot of a Circle K on Youree Drive, near a nearby apartment complex. Shortly afterward, officers spotted the suspect fleeing toward the apartments.
He was tracked to a unit and taken into custody without further incident.
The suspect, identified as 17-year-old Marcus Madden, was arrested and charged with:
• Simple Kidnapping
• Theft of a Motor Vehicle
• Child Desertion
• Unauthorized Entry into an Inhabited Dwelling
Authorities credited the swift response and teamwork of SPD officers and detectives for ensuring the child’s safe recovery and the prompt arrest of the suspect.
