JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An 18-month-old boy was returned to his family Thursday afternoon, less than three hours after he was taken, strapped in the back seat of a car that was stolen from a convenience store in northwest Jacksonville.

"It was a successful end to what could have been a tragic afternoon for this family," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Lt. Tom Hackney said live on the local station about 3:30 p.m.

The incident began when a woman stopped to get gas at the Amoco station at 10211 Lem Turner Road about 12:15 p.m., leaving the car running as she headed inside. She turned around to see a man jump in the car and speed off.

The child -- Mark Starling, known to family as A.J. -- was strapped in a car seat in the back. A.J. is the woman's boyfriend's son.

"I tried to chase the car, and I fell and wound up getting scraped up," said girlfriend, Stefanie Veltrup, 18. "I screamed and I cried and I ran in the store and told someone to call 911."

About 2:30 p.m., as authorities were in the process of issuing an Amber Alert, police spotted the stolen 2002 Nissan Altima in the Oceanway area.

"It looked like hundreds of cops -- it may have been 75 cops -- after this one car, and it kept on going," witness Debbie Fussell said.

Police used stop sticks to flatten the vehicle's tires, then forced the car into a ditch at Main Street and Eubanks -- only about 4 miles from where it was stolen.

"They jumped out and the one cop had his weapon beating on the car to get the baby out of there," witness Kim DeBerry said. "It was just remarkable to see that happen, how they were able to rescue him."

Police said the child was still safely strapped in his car seat.

"The suspect was taken into custody without incident, other than a little brush with the K-9 unit," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said at 2:40 p.m. "The child is fine He's being assessed right now."

Police said they were questioning the suspect, later identified as George William Taylor III, 37, and had not determined if he knew the child was in the car.

"I just cried and held him," A.J.'s mother, Holly Kizziah, told reporters. "It's not something that anyone has to go through."

An off-duty Nassau County police officer witnessed the car theft and gave chase, but the vehicle eluded him in the 1400 block of Dunn Avenue.

Police searched the area with ground and air units, hoping to find the child quickly.

Investigators said Taylor would be charged with kidnapping, auto theft and fleeing/eluding a police officer.

"Anybody's that's going to take a car with a kid in it ... they really don't care anyway," the child's uncle, Todd Senesac, told Channel 4's Melanie Lawson.

"These child abductions that happen like this are good lessons to learn for everybody about leaving their children in cars unattended or leaving keys in the car while running," Hackney said. "These kind of things can happen."

It is illegal in the state of Florida to get out a car while it is running. Police said it is possible that Veltrup could be ticketed.