IMPERIAL, MO. (KMOX) – Police in Jefferson County have a suspect in custody who allegedly stole a jeep left running, with a toddler inside.

The baby’s mother had stopped at a gas station on Old Route 21 in Imperial, left her jeep running and went inside. Her 19-month-old daughter was still in the vehicle. When she returned, the jeep and the girl were gone.

Down the road, neighbor Al Schmidt told KMOV he saw the suspect stop to take the baby out of the jeep.

“He was pulling on the straps. She was strapped in the back seat.  He finally got the straps undone in the back and laid the baby on the ground” Schmidt told KMOV.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies took a suspect, Ryan Beckler, 21, into custody in Fenton. Now, not only does he face charges but so does the mother of the child.