(SHUTTERSTOCK)

FRESNO, California - Seven children from northern California, who have been missing for five days, have been found with their estranged father in Sacramento, according to an NBC News report.

The children were believed to have been abducted by their father while their mother was out grocery shopping, police said on Thursday.

The children's mother and stepfather left their 12-year-old son to mind the other six siblings while the couple went grocery shopping on Saturday evening, Fresno police spokesman Sergeant Jaime Rios said in a telephone interview.

When the couple returned, the children were missing and their clothing and luggage were gone, police said.

Investigators believe the children's biological father, Xa Yang, took them, Rios said, adding that Xa Yang was divorced from the children's mother and was believed to be living in Sacramento.

Police in Sacramento and Fresno were working jointly on the case.