CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — Christmas came early for one Battle Ground family with the birth of their first child; a little boy they named Alonso.
Raelinda Quintero said he was born at 9:44 p.m. on Dec. 22.
"We are thrilled. We've been waiting for a long time," said Edgar Quintero.
The new parents said they welcomed their son into the world at Legacy Salmon Creek. After arriving on Thursday evening, Raelinda Quintero had an emergency C-section Friday night.
"One of the things (the staff) kept asking us was, 'What pharmacy are you guys going to? You guys need to pick it up and get the medication because it’s going to be closed on Christmas Day,'" Raelinda Quintero said.
While things went well inside the hospital — both mother and baby happy and healthy — out in the parking lot, Edgar Quintero, who was going to pick up the prescription, soon discovered that their vehicle was missing from its spot on the ground level near the entrance.
"I walked around, pressing the panic button to see if … I was tired and maybe forgot it, but after a few minutes, I realize that it was not here," he said.
He said he enlisted the help of security, but after searching all parts of the parking lot, they checked the cameras and confirmed their vehicle was stolen.
"We went back to the room and security was there and they confirmed they had video. It was taken," he said. "They didn't break the window. They used a universal makeshift key, one in the video shows them unlocking it as if they owned the vehicle. And then getting in there ... they must've punctured the ignition or something and they were gone within 30 seconds."
The Quinteros filed a police report with the Clark County Sheriff's Office and posted photos of the missing 2018 Hyundai Elantra on social media, hoping that someone may have spotted the car. Meanwhile, family members started a GoFundMe to replace it.
"You know if it shows up, it shows up. I'm not going to hold my breath if it doesn't," Raelinda Quintero said. "But I think just the most frustrating part is, you know, you're at a hospital. You do not expect your car to get stolen at all."
Despite the setback, neither of the Quinteros are letting this overshadow their Christmas miracle.
"We're not going to let it ruin our Christmas or the birth of our new baby boy."
KGW reached out to Legacy Health for a comment Monday night. Legacy Health said Tuesday afternoon that it can't comment on specific incidents where patients are involved, but released a statement that said, in part, "What we can share is that our safety and security teams are focused on protecting our patients, their families and our staff, and that Legacy has significantly increased our safety and security measures across all of our campuses over the last several years. We carefully review every incident that occurs on our campuses, partner with local law enforcement and always look for opportunities to further enhance our safety and security measures."