An 8-year-old girl named Charley did something very brave when a bad guy took her dad’s SUV at a car wash in Wisconsin, with her and her 2-year-old sister, Autumn, still inside.

It happened one Sunday afternoon when their dad, Adam Jorgenson, took them to get the car washed at a place called Kwik Trip in Oak Creek, which is not too far from Milwaukee. After the car wash, their dad stepped out to grab a cloth and left the car running. While he was talking to someone asking for directions, suddenly, he saw his SUV driving away really fast.

Charley felt really scared but knew she had to do something, especially for her little sister, Autumn. She thought about what to do, like kicking the bad guy or just staying put. Then, she remembered her dad had the car keys, which meant the bad guy couldn’t go too far. When the bad guy asked where the keys were, Charley smartly told him her dad had them.

The bad guy didn’t get far with the car and left it about a mile away at a store called Batteries Plus Bulbs. That’s when Charley grabbed her dad’s phone from the front and called her mom, leaving a message saying they needed help because they had lost their dad.

Meanwhile, their dad had already called the police and was talking to their mom, who was using her phone to find where the girls were. The police found Charley and Autumn safe at the store.

Their dad ran to them as fast as he could for a big hug when the police brought them back. He shared their scary story to remind other parents to be extra careful, even during simple things like going to the car wash.

The police caught three people, aged 17, 20, and 21, and they’re facing serious charges for what they did. The story also mentioned that stealing cars has become a bigger problem in many places, including Milwaukee, where it has gone up a lot in the last three years.