Suspect At Large After NYPD Finds Stolen SUV With 3 Kids Inside In Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Brooklyn were on the hunt for a man they say took off in an idling SUV that had three young children inside Friday evening.

Investigators say the mother and father of the kids went into a beauty supply store near the corner of Flatlands Avenue and E. 81st Street in Canarsie shortly after 4 p.m., leaving the children in their 2005 Acura SUV parked outside and idling.

Shortly after, police say the suspect first strolled past the SUV.

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"He backtracks, and then goes into the driver's side vehicle and takes off down East 81st Street," NYPD Assistant Chief William Aubry said.

The man drove away with the children, ages one, two, and eight-years-old in the back seat.

Neighborhood Community Officers Zhana Krot and Matthew Woods found the vehicle, with the kids inside, approximately seven blocks away more than three hours later.

"The kids looked very scared and very nervous," Woods said during a media briefing late Friday. "Their nose was running and they were nervous."

Police reunited the children with their parents and took them to Kings County Hospital as a precaution.

It wasn't immediately clear if either of the children's parents would face any charges, since the suspect remains at large and the focus is on finding him. He's described as a man with a dark complexion wearing a dark jacket and dark clothing, and faces larceny and kidnapping charges whenever police catch up with him.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.