Three children younger than the age of 5 were found early Sunday under blankets in the back seat of a vehicle that had been towed from a downtown Minneapolis parking lot, according to police.

A towing company pulled the vehicle from a private parking lot near the intersection of N. 3rd Street and 1st Avenue N. because it was illegally parked and took it to the 4000 block of Washington Avenue N., according to a Minneapolis police statement. That's the location of Corky's Towing, and a social media post from North Minneapolis Crime Watch & Information said staff at Corky's found the children. The person who answered the phone at Corky's Sunday declined to comment to the Star Tribune.

The police were notified at 3:12 a.m., according to the statement. The mother called the towing company to find her children and vehicle and met with police at the towing company lot. The children were evaluated by emergency medical staff and returned to the mother's care, according to police.

Hennepin County Child Protective Services was notified, and a police report was filed in the case.