Two young boys who were abducted Thursday during a vehicle theft in Cathedral City have been reunited with their parents after being found safe in Desert Hot Springs early Friday morning.
Two-year-old Carlos Cortez and his 1-year-old brother Jayden Cortez were found by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies about 2:30 a.m. inside the still running stolen vehicle that was abandoned by the thief at a church in the 17400 block of Bubbling Wells Road, said Cathedral City Police Department Deputy Chief Travis Walker.
The children were found safe but were taken to a doctor for a medical evaluation, Walker said.
The boys were abducted when the vehicle they were inside was stolen in Cathedral City about 6:44 p.m. Thursday.
Desert Hot Springs is about 10 miles north of Cathedral City.
An Amber Alert issued for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties following the abduction has been canceled.
The car thief was not found with the vehicle and was still on the loose Friday morning.
The Cathedral City Police Department later posted a picture on Facebook of the children being reunited with their parents.
KTLA’s Alexandria Hernandez contributed to this report.