Police are looking for the man who stole an SUV with three children in the back seat Friday afternoon.

The suspect took off in the Acura SUV with the kids inside from the corner of Flatlands Avenue in Canarsie, at East 81st Street to East 78th Street.

The parents of the children, who are 1, 2, and 8 years old, were shopping inside Feel Beauty and had a cigarette when they realized their car was missing.

They were reunited with their children after two hours and 45 minutes. The car was located not far away, but the suspect remains at large.

Community members say they never received an Amber alert that might've helped find the children sooner.

Public advocate Tony Herbert says the state took too long to send the alert.

“[The children] could have been in Connecticut, they could have been in New Jersey, they could have been in Baltimore,” he says. "Is it because these children were children of color that this Amber alert was not issued? Or did someone just not push the right button?"

New York state government says its criteria for issuing an Amber Alert is if a child is abducted, a child is in serious danger, and that no extended period of time has passed since they've gone missing.

They also require specific information to add substance to the alert.

Investigators say the NYPD were in the process of issuing an Amber alert when the vehicle was located with the three children who were found unharmed.

Police say all appropriate resources were used to find the children.

Chief of Citywide Investigations Bill Aubrey says that every NYPD police officer in the field had been notified.

Authorities have released surveillance video of the suspect. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.