The sheriff's office said Malakai Greene had been taken in violation of a court order.
He was found in Oakboro, North Carolina, a town of fewer than 2,000 people in Stanly County.
Malakai has been safely returned to family members.
Charges are pending in this case.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Stanley County Sheriff's Office, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department all assisted Rutherford County authorities in the successful search.
ORIGINAL STORY:
An AMBER Alert has been issued for a missing 3-year-old boy in North Carolina.
The alert was issued out of Rutherford County, in the western part of the state. The sheriff's office is searching for Malakai Blake Greene.
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Malakai is described as White, approximately 3 feet tall and weighing 45 pounds. He has blonde hair and hazel eyes. He has a scar on his top lip on the left side of his face and a skin tag on the front of his right ear.
The child is believed to be with Alyssa Greene, 25, who is described as White, about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 220 pounds. She has red hair and green eyes.
Authorities said Greene is the child's mother.
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Greene was last seen leaving Union Mills, North Carolina in a gray 2012 Dodge Journey with license plate KAW-7288 possibly headed to Charlotte.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office immediately at (828) 286-2911 or call 911 or* HP.