Amber Alert canceled after 2-year-old boy taken in stolen car is found safe

A statewide Amber Alert issued after a man stole a car with a 2-year-old boy sitting inside has been canceled after the boy was found, Soledad police said Thursday.

The toddler, Jacob Jesus Vargas was abducted in a car theft about 7 a.m.

Police say the boy’s father left his son in the car while he warmed up the engine then went back inside the family home for a moment. When he went outside again, the car and his son were gone. The car did not have Lo-Jack to help authorities find it, said Soledad Police Chief Eric Sills.

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Authorities issued an Amber Alert across five counties Thursday morning then expanded it statewide in the afternoon. Within hours, the car and boy were found, police said. No other details were immediately available, and it was not clear if anyone had been arrested.

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