LOS ANGELES, CA — A mom in Los Angeles endured a parent's nightmare Wednesday when her 5-month-old daughter was taken before her eyes by a car thief, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Mother and baby were separated for hours as the woman used her phone to track the stolen vehicle and help guide police to her baby. Eventually, the stolen vehicle and baby were abandoned.

It happened at about 5:30 p.m. 110th Street and Wilmington Avenue when a woman pulled over her SUV to check on a flat tire, she told investigators.

"As the victim exited her vehicle to look at her flat tire, a female suspect entered her vehicle and drove off, with the victim's child in the rear seat," police said in a statement. "The victim called the police and was able to monitor her vehicle's location through her cellphone, which was inside the stolen vehicle."

According to ABC7, authorities located the Toyota RAV4 after a few hours abandoned with the victim's 5-month-old daughter inside at Fishburn Avenue and Randolph Street in Bell. Witnesses pointed out the suspect's location, and she was found a short time afterward and arrested.

The name of the suspect was not available for release, police said on Thursday.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.

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