Police: 2 Idaho kids safe after escaping from stolen car

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) -- Two young children are safe after police say they escaped from the back seat of a stolen car in Pocatello.

The ordeal began when their father stopped to help another car seen stuck on the side of an icy highway.

The Idaho State Journal reports the two kids were under 12 years old and sitting in a Pontiac sedan as their father drove on Interstate 15 near Pocatello on Saturday night.

The Idaho State Police say the father was getting out of the car to help another vehicle when two people jumped in and sped away with the children still inside. Pocatello police found the car parked at a home within an hour.

Soon after, a family member of the children called authorities to report that the kids had escaped and walked to a relative's home nearby.