Authorities have found a 2-year-old boy safe in a nearby town after he was abducted in Soledad by a car thief Thursday morning.

Just before 2 p.m., Soledad police announced that they had found the boy, Jason Vargas. A relative of the child told reporters that the car was found locked in a barn on River Road in Gonzales, about eight miles north of Soledad on Highway 101.

Jason was sitting in his father’s car around 6:45 a.m. when the father briefly went back into his house in the 100 block of Head Street, and an unidentified person took off with the vehicle, according to police.

Authorities issued a statewide AMBER Alert that broadcast the boy’s description as well as the vehicle description and license plate on electronic freeway signs. Cell phones throughout the region where officials thought he might have been — Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara counties — also buzzed with the alert through a compulsory notification system. The alert was cancelled after he was found.

Soledad Police Chief Eric Sills said the abduction appeared to be an “inadvertent kidnapping.”

The thief may not have known the child was inside the car.

Family and police were especially concerned because Jason has asthma and needed his medication by 4 p.m. each day. Upon being found in the vicinity of the stolen car, Jason appeared to be in good health, police said.

The abductor was not immediately identified. The vehicle he was seen driving is a 2015 black Honda Accord with California license plate 7LIE244. It has tinted windows and damage to the left rear bumper.

Anyone with information should contact the Soledad Police Department, 831-755-5111, or call 9-1-1.