Mom left her 4-year-old in the car at the gas station. She next saw him at a Home Depot.

A mother’s stop at a Pembroke Park gas station convenience store Tuesday morning turned into a carjacking and kidnapping of her 4-year-old son.

Her 12 minutes of parental nightmare ended when cell phone tracking led Broward Sheriff’s Office to her SUV. Her son was still inside. BSO released video and surveillance camera stills of the suspected thief, who walked away from the Mitsubishi Outlander, perhaps not expecting the Mitsubishi to come with the preschooler.

This all started around 7:30 a.m. at the Marathon station at 5551 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. While the mother went inside the store, BSO says a man hanging around the store decided the Mitsubishi was worth stealing.

The frantic mother realized she also left her cell phone in the car. Though less valuable overall than the 4-year-old, the phone proved more valuable for recovering child, car and phone.

A BSO sergeant used the Find My Phone app to locate the SUV. By that time, the thief had parked the Outlander in a Home Depot parking lot near the intersection of State Road 7 and Pembroke Road.

Employees of the Home Depot told BSO investigators they recalled the man in the store on Monday.

Anyone with information on the man can call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).