A 20-month-old boy is back safely in his mother’s arms Saturday night after her vehicle was stolen with her young son in the back seat.

The mom’s Nissan Xterra was reported stolen from somewhere in the 1100 and 1200 block of Vine Street Saturday around 6:15pm.  According to Brownwood Assistant Chief of Police James Fuller, the mom left the vehicle running for a short time to quickly drop something off at a house in the Vine Street location.  When she came back to the vehicle, it was gone along with her son who was secured in the back seat.  It was later recoverd with child in the parking lot of Hastings on Main Street.

“Whoever took the car realized what was in it and went to Hastings and left the car running,” Fuller said.  “Police are processing both scenes (Vine St. and Hastings) and they have detectives out looking for all evidence. “

Fuller said that police are also processing video from Hastings. He reports that mom and baby are both safe.

“I am glad, no matter how sorry it was for the person to take the car, that they were smart enough to leave the baby where he could be found,” Fuller said.

The vehicle was found at Hastings around 6:33pm Saturday.  Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the found vehicle including the Brownwood Police, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Brown County Sheriff’s Office (pictured above).