Boy, 3, Answers Mom's Phone in Stolen Car

Elizabeth Barrios was separated from her 3-year-old son for 20 terrifying minutes after a thief stole her car while he was inside yesterday—but it could have been a lot longer if he hadn't known how to unlock her phone. The Ogden, Utah, woman left her car unlocked and running with Aiden inside as she dropped another child off at day care, and she watched in horror as someone drove it away, ABC 4 reports. Police asked her to call her phone after learning she had left it inside, and she says that to her surprise, Aiden answered, telling her, "The guy is going through your purse, he's getting your purse."

Police say the thief, who has not been caught, took off on foot after the boy answered the phone, leaving him alone in the car. They asked him to honk the horn and they found him about three blocks away, the AP reports. "He was scared, but it was a good thing at his age that he was able to get himself out of his child seat and honk the horn," a police spokesman says. At the day care center, staff say they know Aiden and they're not surprised the "pretty smart" boy was able to answer the phone and help police. "He knows my password, he uses it all the time," Barrios says. (Last year, car thieves ditched the baby who was inside the car they stole.)