Father of kids taken in stolen car says he thought he’d never see boys again

By Soyoung Kim

Click here for updates on this story

    PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — After a woman allegedly stole a car with two children inside on Monday in north Portland, on Wednesday, the children’s father spoke about his family’s experience.

The father, who wanted to remain anonymous for his family’s privacy, said it was a parent’s worst nightmare.

“I was scared for them,” he said. “Thought I wasn’t going to see my boys anymore.”

After picking up his two sons, ages 9 and 11 years old, he parked near North Interstate Avenue and North Saratoga Street to pick up his 4-year-old daughter, he said.

“As I was going into the school, I saw the lady sitting on the side of the street.”

In the blink of an eye, his car – with his two sons inside – was gone.

“Was gone for not even a minute, and as I was coming back out, saw her going into my car,” he said. “She took off with me holding on to the door.”

In his worst day as a parent, he said angels were watching over his children.

“A cop was driving up, so I ran and flagged them down.”

Investigators said about 10 minutes later the boys were able to jump out of the car while it was stopped at a red light. They flagged someone down for help and called 911.

“I’m proud that they managed to get away,” he said. “I don’t know how to repay the help that they did for us.”

Shortly after, Portland police said a Multnomah County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the car heading north on Interstate 5 into Washington state.

They recovered the car and arrested 33-year-old Iosha Millage. She faces charges including kidnapping and robbery.

The dad said he is sharing his story as a word of caution for others.

“These types of things happen within seconds,” he said. “God is great. He was there for us. That’s all that matters to me is that we’re back together.”

Millage is now awaiting extradition from Clark County to Multnomah County. Authorities said once that process is complete, additional charges could be filed.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.