A man is facing a string of charges after he allegedly stole a car with six children inside in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
The 39-year-old is accused of stealing a Holden Captiva SUV from a shopping centre carpark on Lionel Street in South Kalgoorlie, 600km east of Perth, at around 10.40am yesterday.
There were six children aged between one and nine inside the car at the time.
Using information provided by witnesses and various intelligence tools, police were able to locate the car a short time later.
It had been abandoned on Carlyle Court in Boulder, a five-minute drive from where it was taken.
The children were still inside the car and had not been harmed.
Police will allege the accused fled the vehicle on foot and was found and arrested at a nearby home on Taylor Way in Boulder.
The 39-year-old from Cloverdale has now been charged with stealing a motor vehicle, six counts of deprivation of liberty, driving without authority, stealing and two breaches of protective bail.
He was refused bail and is set to appear in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court today.
Detectives are asking anyone who was at the shopping centre at the time of the theft or who has CCTV, dash-cam or mobile phone vision of the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.