A baby boy has been found safe and sound after a man stole the car he was in from his mother.
Police sparked an urgent search on Thursday afternoon when the seven-month-old boy was unknowingly taken by a car thief during a brazen daylight theft.
About 2pm (AEDT) a woman stopped to offer assistance to a man who appeared to have broken down in the northern ACT suburb of Ngunnawal.
The man jumped in her car, a silver Mazda, and drove off, unaware the boy was in the back seat, police said.
Almost two hours later and about 1km away at Palmerston, a resident got home to find the damaged Mazda in the driveway of their home.
"The baby was located safe and well on the porch of the residence and reunited with his parents a short time later," police said in a statement.
The man has not been found.
He is described as being Caucasian, about 20 years old, about 185cm, and was wearing white runners, shorts and a black t-shirt and cap at the time of the theft.
Police have warned the public not to approach him.
