Mom reunited with 2-year-old daughter abandoned by dad suspected of shoplifting (Ridley Township, Pennsylvania)

Dad ANDREW SURPLUS just really needed the leather jacket. Well, five leather jackets actually. So much so, that he "allegedly" stuffed them into a bag attached to the stroller holding his 2-year-old daughter. But wouldn't you know, security guards these days are just not sensitive to a father's sartorial needs. So when confronted, Dad made a run for it, leaving the little girl behind. Fortunately, the little girl's mother was able to get custody back after the girl went briefly into foster care. Some moms are not so lucky. Among other things, Daddy has been charged with child abandonment.

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Mother reunited with child abandoned by father suspected of shoplifting
By Peter Mucha

Inquirer Staff Writer

A Ridley Township mother is happy to have her 2-year-old daughter back, as police seek the father, who allegedly abandoned the girl after being caught shoplifting.

Andrew Surplus, 39, was at the Kohl's department store on Baltimore Pike in Morton early Saturday afternoon when he allegedly tucked five leather jackets valued at $2,250 into a bag attached to a store stroller carrying his daughter, Aubrey, police said. Exiting, he was confronted by a security guard, who called to a Morton police officer patrolling the parking lot.

Camera images show Surplus leaving his daughter - and the coats - as he sprinted inside. He apparently fled through a storage room and out the back door, police said.

By 3:30 p.m., Children and Youth Services had found a foster family to look after the girl. About an hour-and-a-half later, the mother, Jackie Walker, contacted police, saying Surplus had called to say Aubrey was with authorities.

Walker had to wait several days to get Aubrey back, as youth services did background checks.

After staying for several days in West Grove, Surplus may be back in the Delaware County area, police said. He had been driving a dark-green 1995 Mercury Sable station wagon with Pennsylvania tag GZC-8932.

According to a police poster, Surplus is wanted on charges of felony retail theft and endangering the welfare of a child.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Morton police at 610-544-8770.

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