Van with dog inside stolen on South Side

A van with a dog inside of it was stolen Wednesday morning near 47^th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway on the South Side.

A man left a 3-year-old German Shepard in a van in the 200 block of West 47^th Street when it was stolen about 2 a.m., according to Chicago police. The man, an employee of a private security company, had left two phones inside the vehicle and was able to track it to the 4600 block of South Springfield with the assistance of police officers.

The dog was not injured in the theft and was returned safely to the man along with the van and the phones, police said. No one is in custody at this time.