(The following report is a television script.

DANIA BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) A 3-year-old is back with her mother-- after being taken on a terrifying ride by a car thief.

Police say the child was sitting in the back of a car at a "Citgo" gas station in Dania Beach, as her mother walked inside the convenience store and her mother's boyfriend pumped gas.

The boyfriend then left the keys in the ignition and went inside to tell the mother to purchase him a drink.

That's when the suspect jumped into the car and took off .

Veda Coleman-Wright/Broward Sheriff's Office, "You can't leave your cars unattended not even for a moment especially when you have such precious cargo in the back seat."

The suspect did pull into a Burger King on SR 7 and removed the child from the car.

Employees called police and reunited the child with her mother.

Officers are looking for a 1998, 2-door Red Dodge Neon with dark tinted windows and a black cover on the front grill.

The vehicle has a Florida Tag "T42LAU.