Beaverton police report that a mother is happy to have her child back after a thief stole her car with her child still in the back seat to later return the child and scold her.

Around 9 a.m. outside of Basic Meat Markets, Crystal Leary(mother) left her car to quickly buy a few items while at the same time leaving her 4-year-old son in the car. During her time inside the meat market, a man walked by and got into her car, and drove off. Realizing there was a child in the back the man quickly drove back and ordered the mother to take the child out of the car, scolded her, and drove off again.

The boy was left unharmed.

“As moms, we get really busy, and we think we’re just running in for a second. This is just a perfect example of letting our guards down and how terribly it could have ended,” Crystal Leary said. “So, I’m just thankful that he’s OK. It was so stupid, and I’ll never do that again. But it’s that split-second decision that could just change everything.”

In the mother’s defense, the store was covered by glass windows all around allowing her to keep an eye out on her child, but it was so sudden and unexpected she could not react fast enough to prevent it.