A man has been charged with kidnapping after allegedly stealing a car with an 11-month-old boy inside in Melbourne.

The white 2013 Toyota RAV 4 was stolen in Keysborough at about 2.10pm on Tuesday.

The boy’s mother had stepped out of the still-running car on Putt Grove when a man jumped into the driver’s seat and drove away with the baby inside.

A search involving helicopters and several police units began. The baby and the car were found in Cranbourne about three-and-a-half hours later, after a tip-off from the public.

“He’s in the process of being returned to mum and dad,” Victoria Police Inspector Fiona Halford on Tuesday night.

“It was a member of the general public who had identified … the location and subsequently police attended that location and found the child safe and well.”

A 46-year-old man has been charged with kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle, committing an indictable offence whilst on bail and unlicensed driving.

The Frankston man has been remanded to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.