‘I Saw Something Moving in My Back Seat’

A North Carolina woman had a shocking discovery in the morning before heading to work — an escaped inmate was hiding out in her car.

Marie Steinburg of Edenton, N.C. walked down the driveway to her car at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 8, WAVY reports. After assuming she had locked her car the night before, she was shocked at what she discovered.

“I clicked the unlock, and it must have scared the guy, because the next thing I know, I saw something moving in my back seat and I backed away because I thought, ‘Somebody is in my car,’” Steinburg told WAVY.  

Charles Babb, an inmate who escaped from the Chowan County Detention Center in Edenton, had escaped on the evening of Dec. 7, the outlet reports. Babb, 23, allegedly used “a small hand-held edged weapon to force his way out of the jail and into the community,” the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement shared on social media.

Court records viewed by PEOPLE indicate that Babb was charged with a felony in connection with the escape, along with charges of breaking and entering, larceny, and possession of stolen property.

“He kept saying, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so cold. I’m so cold.’ And, you know, I was startled and I know he was too,” Steinburg told WAVY. “And I said, ‘Well, hey, let me go in and get you a coat.’ I thought, I’ll try the mother act because I didn’t know whether he was dangerous or not.”

Steinburg told the outlet that Babb asked her if he could use a phone and if there was a McDonald’s nearby.

“I figured if I was nice to him, he’d be nice to me,” Steinburg added. “I don’t know, I just figured that that was the thing to do because I didn’t know if he really was dangerous.” He then exited the car and took off, still in his orange prison jumpsuit.

Steinburg then went inside and had her husband, former state senator Bob Steinberg, call the police, WAVY reports.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

“It worked out the way it was supposed to work out. And thank God everybody was safe,” Bob Steinburg told WAVY. “I was very proud of my wife. I mean, the way she handled it as I’m hearing about this now, from her and others, is that she really did a great job trying to not alarm the young man, but at least have a conversation with him.” 

Police later apprehended Babb and brought him back to jail.

“Moving forward, a full investigation will be conducted to determine the circumstances of the escape and to ensure that preventative measures are put in place to prevent a recurrence,” the CCSO wrote in a statement.

According to the CCSO, Babb’s alleged escape sparked an all-night search. “Chowan County Deputies worked tirelessly into the night following up on reports of sightings and using information from our community members,” the agency shared in a statement.

PEOPLE has reached out to the CCSO for comment on the incident.