Man steals car with 5-year-old still inside near Budapest: child abandoned kilometres away –⁠ video

In a shocking car theft in Sülysáp, Pest County, a 20-year-old man drove off in a vehicle with a five-year-old boy still sitting in the back seat, police have confirmed.

The incident happened on Wednesday morning outside a local nursery. The children’s father had stopped as part of his usual routine, leaving the engine running while he took his younger child inside the building. The older child remained strapped into the back seat, according to the Hungarian News Agency (MTI).

According to police, the suspect, identified as K. Milán, happened to walk past, noticed the unattended car with the engine running, jumped in and drove off without hesitation.

By the time the father returned, both the vehicle and his son had disappeared. He immediately called emergency services.

Child left alone outside shop

The man drove around six kilometres before abandoning the boy outside a shop in the nearby village of Úri. A shop employee found the child and alerted the authorities after the boy said their car had been stolen.

Police officers quickly collected the child and safely returned him to his family. Thankfully, he was unharmed.

Tracked by cameras and vehicle signal

Using the car’s tracking signal and local CCTV footage, officers traced the vehicle’s route and coordinated with neighbouring police departments. The suspect was eventually arrested about 50 kilometres away in Újszász, along with the stolen car.