An elderly Delaware woman who was discovered wandering around a cemetery had been dumped there after teenagers abducted her and drove her around in the trunk of her car for two days, police said.

Margaret E. Smith, 89, of Lincoln, encountered her alleged captors at a convenience store in Milford, Del., on Monday around 11 a.m., when two of them -- girls, ages 14 and 15 -- asked for a ride back to Lincoln, according to Delaware State Police.

Smith agreed, but when they arrived at the residence they had requested she drive them to, instead of getting out, the two girls demanded Smith's keys, according to what Smith later told police.

Smith struggled to keep her keys, but was overpowered by the girls, police said in a press release. The teens then allegedly ordered her out of the car and managed to force her into the the trunk. At some point during the two days that she was held in the trunk, Smith was robbed of $500 from her coat pocket, police said.

Delaware State Police Master Corporal Gary Fournier said police first became aware that Smith was missing when a relative reported on Tuesday that Smith hadn't contacted anyone in hours and hadn't taken daily medication she needed for medical conditions.

Police located Smith Wednesday at about 8:20 a.m. after receiving reports of an elderly woman wandering confused around graves in a cemetery in Seaford, Del. Her car wasn't in the area. Police took her to a hospital, where she was treated for exposure and released.

As police interviewed Smith about her ordeal, troopers spotted her car being driven by a group of teenagers. They pulled them over and charged the five teenagers -- the two girls who initially allegedly interacted with Smith, a third girl and two boys -- with kidnapping, carjacking, conspiracy, and robbery.

A 20-year-old college student went on a shooting rampage across Orange County, Calif., on Tuesday, killing three people and injuring several others before killing himself, authorities said.

Police said the man, identified as Ali Syed, 20, of Ladera Ranch, Calif., told one of his victims, whose car he stole: "I killed somebody. This is my last day."

In all, there were three homicide victims and at least five victims of attempted homicide, police said.

Syed, a student at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo with no criminal record, shot and killed a young woman in his home in Ladera Ranch, which he shared with his parents, said Scott Jordan, police chief of the town of Tustin, where several of the incidents occurred Tuesday.

The relationship between Syed and the young woman remained unclear, as was the reason she was in the home, police said.

Syed's parents were home at the time, about 4:45 a.m. (7:45 a.m. ET), and fled, Jordan said. Syed then took their black sport-utility vehicle and set out on a drive along Orange County's highways, stopping at times to change cars and shoot people — apparently at random, according to police.

As state troopers homed in on him, he then killed himself.

Police and sheriff's officials gave this account of the dramatic chase:

Syed's first stop was the parking lot of a restaurant in Tustin, another Los Angeles suburb about 20 miles away, where he was spotted loading his shotgun by a man who was waiting in his car for his son.

The man quickly drove off with Syed chasing him on foot and firing his shotgun. The man was shot in the back of head but survived and managed to drive a short way before coming to a stop. Syed shot and wounded a second person who had rushed up to see what was happening.

Syed's car was damaged and had a flat tire, so he ran across the street to a gasoline station, where he approached a man filling up his tank. He took the man's truck after politely telling him: "I don't want to hurt you. I killed somebody. This is my last day. Give me your keys."

Now in his second stolen vehicle, Syed took off down state Route 55. He exited in Santa Ana, where he began randomly firing at vehicles on the freeway.

Three vehicles were damaged in Santa Ana, the driver of one of which suffered minor injuries to his face and hand. That man drove home and called police, who began tracking Syed in earnest. The drivers of all three damaged vehicles were being considered victims of attempted homicide.

Back in the stolen truck, Syed again tore off down Route 55. He took an off-ramp too fast, causing him to jump the curb, whereupon he leapt out of the truck, approached a man who was stopped at a stop sign, "walked him across the road and executed him, shooting him three times," Jordan said.

That victim was identified as Melvin Lee Edwards, 69, of Laguna Hills.

Syed then took the man's BMW — his third stolen vehicle — and drove off to the parking lot of a computer store, where he shot two people, apparently strangers, killing one of them. The dead man was identified as Jeremy Lewis, 26, of Fullerton.

Syed drove off in yet another stolen vehicle, returning to Route 55 as emergency calls poured in to authorities. As state troopers were preparing to get into position, he exited the freeway in the city of Orange. With the stolen vehicle still moving, he jumped out, put the shotgun to his head and killed himself.

Authorities said they found the shotgun beside Syed's body. And as of late Tuesday afternoon, they said, they had no explanation for why any of it happened.

Matthew DeLuca and Olivia Santini of NBC News contributed to this report. Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.

This story was originally published on Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:07 PM EST

A 3-year-old who was in the back seat of his dad’s car when it was hijacked from a convenience store in Colorado is back home after the toddler sought help from a stranger.

The father, Anthony Pettiford, was on his way home from a family gathering early Sunday when he stopped to buy some gum, The Gazette in Colorado Springs reported. Pettiford said he was chatting with friends next to the car when a man jumped into his white 1995 Chrysler New Yorker and took off.

A family friend told KKTV that she and her boyfriend tried chasing after the car, but couldn't catch up to it.

 "The only thing that we thought was, 'we have to catch him,'" Kim Rayford told the station.

As it turned out, the carjacker dropped the boy off a few blocks from the store, where he walked up to a woman’s door.

"Help me. I’m cold," the boy, wearing a diaper and a thin jacket in snowy weather, told Traci Gilbert.

Gilbert’s adult son drove the boy to find his home. During the search, he waved down a police officer who happened to be looking for the boy. The officer reunited the toddler with his father.

"He never shed a single tear the whole time," Gilbert told the Gazette.

Watch KTTV's report of the carjacking

The Associated Press cited Gilbert as saying she was amazed the toddler made it up the steps to her second-floor duplex carrying a plastic shopping bag containing soy milk, a sippy cup, two diapers, wipes and pajama bottoms.

Pettiford said he's proud his son. "I'm glad my son went to a good person," Pettiford told KKTV.

The boy’s name has not been released.

Colorado Springs police said the father is unlikely to be charged since he was standing next to the vehicle when it was carjacked.

The suspect and the New Yorker are still missing.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Romney's hot-mic moment: I'll shrink federal agencies
• Tough for Zimmerman to get fair trail, defense attorney says
• Maryland: A dead snakehead is a good snakehead
• 'Pray in sorrow': Search for 4 missing California sailors called off
• 'He was a good daddy': Father, daughters among 5 killed by tornadoes
• Illinois man drowns in pond following swan attack

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook