Toddler uses cellphone to lead police to stolen car with him inside

OGDEN, Utah -- A 3-year-old boy bravely helped police find him early Tuesday morning after a car he was sitting in was stolen and abandoned while his mother quickly dropped another child off at daycare.

Police received a call about a stolen white 2012 Mazda 3 about 7 a.m. in Ogden, Utah. The caller, a mother, told police she left her car running and unlocked while she went to drop off one child at daycare.

She left another child -- a 3-year-old boy -- inside the vehicle, she said. When she came out of the daycare, she spotted her car driving away, police said.

Police quickly alerted the public about the theft and kidnapping. After interviewing the mother, they learned that she had left her cellphone inside the car.

Officers called the cellphone hoping either the car thief suspect or maybe the little boy would pick up the phone. The child answered, and told police he was alone in the parked car, and that the suspect had fled the area on foot.

Police instructed the boy to honk the car's horn. He honked, and the sound of the horn led officers to the boy within a few minutes. He was found safe and reunited with his mother.

Police are still investigating the incident.

The incident served as a scary reminder not to leave a running car unattended, police said, as a spike in vehicle thefts has recently been noticed.

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