A toddler who was abducted early Sunday from his mother's home in St. Louis Park by his noncustodial father was found safe in Wisconsin, authorities said.

The father, Marque Montez Charleston, 33, was arrested off Interstate 94 near the Wisconsin Dells on Sunday afternoon, said Jamie Zwilling, a spokesman for St. Louis Park. He did not have any further details on the traffic stop or where Charleston was being held.

The child's mother, Kyesha Lewis, was en route to be reunited with her son, Zwilling said.

St. Louis Park police said Charleston allegedly broke through the back door of the child's home in the 3300 block of Virginia Avenue S. about 1 a.m. on Sunday and forcibly took the boy, 2-year-old Marque Montez Charleston Jr. Lewis was assaulted in the incident.

Police said the two left in a black Volkswagen sport-utility vehicle and were possibly headed to New York or Florida. An alert went out to authorities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Zwilling said he didn't know whether Wisconsin State Patrol troopers knew about the alert when they stopped the vehicle or whether it was a routine stop.

Charleston is a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard. In a statement, spokesman Lt. Col. Kevin Olson said Charleston is a lieutenant in the Guard's Finance Detachment and has been a member of the Guard since 1998.

"At this time, the alleged charges are a matter for civil authorities," the statement said.

Pat Pheifer