Melbourne manhunt for thief who stole a car with sleeping toddler inside on Nepean Highway, Chelsea

A desperate manhunt continues for an alleged thief who stole a car and sped off while a toddler was fast asleep in the backseat.

A man endured every parent’s worst nightmare after he briefly ducked into a supermarket on the Nepean Highway in the beachside suburb of Chelsea in Melbourne‘s south-east 4pm on Sunday.

He decided not to disturb his sleeping two-year-old son and left him inside the air-conditioned grey Volkswagen SUV with the engine still running as he ran a quick errand.

Seconds after he entered the store, a thief jumped in into the car and sped off with the little boy still inside.

The unharmed toddler was dropped off and abandoned in a nearby Bath Street and found wandering alone the busy road by shocked bystanders.

A grey Volkswagen SUV was stolen with a toddler inside asleep as a man ducked into the shops on the Nepean Highway at Chelsea (pictured) on Sunday

‘It appears the thief soon stopped the car, released the young child onto the street and drove away in the stolen car,’ Kingston police said.

‘Minutes later, a passerby found the toddler wandering along a busy road. Miraculously the child was unharmed and police soon returned him to the arms of his parents.’

The thief was last seen driving erratically south along the Nepean Highway.

The stolen car remains missing on Monday morning with the thief still on the run. 

The harrowing ordeal prompted a warning to parents.

‘This situation serves as a timely reminder — never leave young children unattended in a car,’ police added.

‘A lot can happen in the space of a minute or two.’

Detectives are expected to provide more details at a press  conference later on Monday.  

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

The incident has sparked an urgent warning to parents to not leave children unattended in a car (pictured, stock photo of sleeping baby)

Child safety experts said it was very lucky the toddler was unharmed.

‘Nothing is worth the risk of leaving your child unattended anywhere, particularly a younger child, they should be within reach,’ Kidsafe NSW Executive Officer Christine Erskine said.

‘It’s very scary to think that these incidents, as rare as they are, do happen because a risk has been taken.’

In June last year, Adelaide mum Erika Carter left the motor running with four-month-old baby son Jordan asleep in the back seat as she ducked into a deli to buy a loaf of bread in Klemzig.

Seconds later, the distraught mum was captured on CCTV racing into the carpark as the alleged thief reversed out and sped off in the vehicle.

Her car was found abandoned two hours later with Jordan still inside, crying but unharmed.  

‘I went for a quick trip to get a loaf of bread and made the wrong decision to leave bubs for that split second,’ she told 7News.

‘As I was paying for my bread, I heard my car rev and my heart just sunk.

‘I sprinted out after my baby boy and tried my best to get in front, but I couldn’t get to him, I was just yelling, ‘my baby, my baby Jordan’ and off he went.’

‘I thought the worst.’

A manhunt for the thief who stole a grey Volkswagen SUV in Chelsea continues (stock image)