A teenager and a child were sleeping inside a car stolen in broad daylight by a man in a busy Rotorua carpark.
The two, aged 14 and 4, were found safe but shaken at the corner of Ford Rd and Bellingham Cres - a block away from where the car was stolen at the Westbrook netball courts off Malfroy Rd on Saturday about 3.15pm.
The car, a 1990 Toyota Celica registration number XN5772, and the man responsible are yet to be found.
Rotorua police are calling for the public's help to find the man, described as wearing a blue hoody and a black leather vest with a patch on it.
Senior Sergeant Nicky Riordan of the Rotorua police said the main thing was the children were found safe and well.
She said the children had been with their mother, who was taking part in a popular netball tournament, when the eldest had offered to take his younger brother, who was feeling ill, to the car to rest. The eldest child was legally old enough to be babysitting.
He is said to have pleaded with the car thief, described as Maori of skinny build in his 20s or 30s, to let him and his brother out of the car. After they were let out, the 14-year-old was able to call his mother with the aid of a passerby, who had then alerted police.
Ms Riordan said the event couldn't have been anticipated as the car was stolen in an extremely public area at a large sporting event in broad daylight.
"There's no way anyone could have foreseen this. It was in the middle of the afternoon, in a public place where there were lots of people around, and in a place that was highly visible from the road," she said.
"You wouldn't have thought twice. It's certainly not a case of negligence."
Ms Riordan said she felt for the mother and the children, who have had to go through such a scary experience.
She said police were determined to find the offender and urged anyone with information to come forward.
The man is described as short and with a wispy goatee. If you know who may be responsible or have spotted the vehicle call 111 immediately or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.