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The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office pinged the father’s cellphone Wednesday night at first to Closter Plaza, then to Closter Dock Road and Anderson Avenue in Alpine and, finally, to Hemlock Drive, responders said.
The dad -- whose identity was temporarily being withheld pending his surrender -- told the boy’s mother that he was taking him to visit relatives there in June, a law enforcement official told Daily Voice.
When he refused to return, she contacted authorities and a warrant charging him with kidnapping was obtained.
The dad left the boy with the relatives in Alpine shortly before 9 p.m., then took off in a four-door BMW, authorities said.
Officers found the youngster “unharmed and safe," Alpine Police Chief Chris Belcolle said.
More than three hours later, the dad’s cellphone was pinged near the junction of Routes 4 and 17.
His attorney eventually reached out to negotiate the terms of his surrender, which was expected sometime Thursday.
State child welfare authorities temporarily placed the boy with them, another official said.
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