San Ysidro

A 10-year-old boy who police thought had been abandoned Thursday in a stolen car in San Ysidro actually was a runaway, authorities said Friday.

Jorge Santiesban apparently ran away from a sister’s home in Tijuana and climbed into a station wagon parked in the 100 block of East Park Avenue, police said.

Police learned that the car had been stolen Tuesday in Long Beach and left on East Park Avenue, which apparently is a dumping ground for stolen vehicles, authorities said.

Police said they did not know where Jorge was running to. The boy has another sister and several uncles in the South Bay area, said Yolanda Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services.

The sisters share legal custody of Jorge, whose mother is dead. The boy has not seen his father, who is remarried and living in Mexico, for more than a year.

Jorge originally told police that he, his father and a friend had crossed the border at midnight in the car and parked in a lot on East Park Avenue, said Officer Elsa Castillo. Jorge said his father told him to stay in the car while he took care of some business, and that he would return for him, Castillo said.

After a resident in the area discovered the boy sleeping in the car, she contacted police.

The youth was taken to Hillcrest Receiving Home, and media reports on Thursday told of the boy’s story and showed his picture. Police were hoping the father would see the broadcasts and contact police, a spokesman had said.

But a social worker at Hillcrest identified the boy as a past runaway who had stayed at the home before. Additionally, Jorge’s sister in South Bay saw his picture on a newscast and contacted police, Thomas said.

The boy is now in her custody.