CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.  —  Police in northwest Georgia have rescued a boy from a hot car where his mother's companion is accused of tying him up.

Ringgold, Georgia, police say a Cracker Barrel restaurant employee called police after seeing Raymond Minchew take the six-year-old out of the restaurant and return without him -- then finished eating his meal. Ringgold is about 13 miles southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Police found the bound boy sitting in the car, crying.

Sergeant John Gass says the child was soaked with sweat and had a rope tied to one of his ankles. Gass says the temperature was in the 80s Saturday in Ringgold.

The 61-year-old Minchew and the boy's mother -- 35-year-old Rachel Gilchrist -- were arrested and charged with cruelty to children and concealing a weapon. There was a handgun in the car.

Investigators believe the boy was in the hot car for about a half hour.

Police Sergeant John Gass says the couple contended the boy had misbehaved, although witnesses at the restaurant disagreed.

The boy has been placed in protective custody.