UPDATE: Children abducted from north Minneapolis returned safe; suspect still at large

An Amber Alert was canceled Sunday after two young children who had been abducted from north Minneapolis were safely returned to their mother.

Police say they were called to a home on the 2900 block of DuPont Avenue North around 3:48 p.m. on a report of a domestic assault and by the time they got there, the mother’s car had been stolen with her children, 3-year-old Raziah Fane and 5-year-old Da’Zarionna Jackson, still inside.

The children were returned around 7 p.m., shortly after the Amber Alert was issued, but police say they’re still looking for the person responsible.

The children’s mother says Ryan Matthews, 32, abducted the children. He is believed to be driving a black 2006 Chevrolet Equinox with Minnesota license plate ERT526 or FZS637. Police were pursuing Matthews at one point but called it off for safety reasons.

Matthews is described as being 6 feet tall and weighing 250 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a tan Nike shirt and pants.

Police say while any missing child is serious, the situation changed when the mother said Matthews threatened to hurt the children.

"It places more urgency and it also advises us and any officers that may come in contact with that vehicle to make sure you have plans for this, make sure that you understand that those threats are there," Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder said in a media briefing.

Police say the children mentioned Matthews was aware of the Amber Alert and it was likely the reason he returned them to their mother.