PHOENIX -- A lot of people talk about their lives flashing before their eyes. Hillary Wood said it was her son's life that flashed before her eyes.

"All of a sudden he was just gone," said Wood.

Three-year-old Dayton Wood was playing outside his Phoenix apartment with friends on Friday evening when a stranger lured him away with the promise of a Tootsie Roll, police said.

The panicked mother searched the area for a few minutes, then called 911, said Sgt. Andy Hill of the Phoenix Police Department.

"Officer Scott Holloway was there within a minute and began broadcasting information to other responding officers," Hill said.

Many officers rushed to the area and began an extensive search. Officer Brain Webster, who had immediately responded to the area, searched up and down the nearby streets. More than 30 minutes later, Webster spotted the child in a parking lot at 3125 E. Indian School Road. The boy was walking with Williams, police said.

Webster said, "It was one of those things where you turn around and there they are and it was disbelief and surprise and of course relief."

"It was the worst possible fear I've ever gone through in my life. You don't do that, you don't take someone's child, how could you do that?" said Wood.

Police arrested Rhonda Williams, 50, on suspicion of custodial interference.

They say she admitted to using methamphetamine before she kidnapped the toddler.

As for Wood, she said Dayton is doing fine.

"He's acting completely normal but I feel like I let my guard down," Wood said.