Mom left toddlers in car to pick up food. She came back in time to see a stranger drive the car away, police say

Three-year-old twins were taken on an unexpected ride with a stranger Wednesday evening after their mother’s car was stolen, according to reports.

Daytona Beach police told the Daytona Beach News-Journal that the twins and the vehicle were found safe about a mile from where the vehicle was stolen.

A 36-year-old woman parked her Chevrolet Impala with her children in the back seat at 601 Bellevue Avenue around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday, the News-Journal reported. She went inside a restaurant to grab food while leaving the car running with the children inside.

That’s when her car was stolen with the children still in the back seat, police told the News-Journal.

The woman came outside to check on her children while waiting on food and saw the car speed off, according to WESH.

But moments later, an announcement from a dispatcher with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said the vehicle and children were found, the News-Journal reported. The children were not harmed.

The Chevrolet was parked behind an apartment building on Virginia Avenue and a witness told the police she saw a man wearing white jeans and a white hooded sweatshirt get out and get into another vehicle, according to ClickOrlando.

The police investigation is ongoing. The Department of Child and Families was also contacted.

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 8:51 AM with the headline "Mom left toddlers in car to pick up food. She came back in time to see a stranger drive the car away, police say."