Toddler safe after thief released from stolen car in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- The search has ended for a toddler who was sleeping inside an idling car when it was stolen.

The 3-year-old had been missing about two hours when he knocked on the door of a Springfield apartment around 1 Friday morning.

Springfield police said the boy was not hurt but was cold from having been outside as temperatures dipped to 28 degrees.

The theft happened Thursday night after the boy's father went inside a friend's house and left his son sleeping on the back seat of the unlocked car. The father looked outside and saw the car being driven away.

Police said the stolen car was recovered around 3 this morning about 70 miles away from Springfield in Waynesville.