Heroic Minnesota dad gives chase, rescues his 4 young children taken during carjacking

A heroic Minneapolis father chased down a carjacker who stole his vehicle and rescued his four young children — all under the age of five — who were inside the vehicle at the time of the theft.

After a family dropped off some items at a friend’s house, the father got out of his vehicle to close the back door and that’s when a suspect jumped in and drove off, KSTP reported.

“I turn around, and I’m like, ‘What?’” Deanah Gotchie, the mother of the children, told the ABC affiliate. “I look out the door, and I see our tail lights leaving.”

The father, Derek Gotchie saw the suspect’s abandoned van was still running and he jumped into the vehicle and gave chase — police would later say the van was stolen.

“I didn’t know what to do,” the father told KSTP. “I’m jumping in there, I’m going after my kids.”

After catching up with the suspect a few blocks away, Derek said the suspect pulled over to let a car by and that’s when he took action. When the carjacker turned back into the road, the father used the van to pin him against a fence.

“I just hit the back of my truck and pushed him into this alleyway to pin him against this fence,” Derek explained

The suspect would jump out and flee, reportedly saying “I’m sorry” as he ran off, and Derek was able to rescue his four children, who were not injured. The rear bumper of the family’s truck was damaged.

When Deanah Gotchie got to the scene police explained to her what had happened and she said she was not surprised.

“I asked [the officer], ‘Did you find them?’ He was like, ‘Your husband did.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about my husband did?’” she told KSTP. “I got there, and I hear the story, I’m not surprised at all, I’m not surprised at all. I’m like, ‘Yup, that sounds like my husband.’”

Tom Tillison

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