Police race to recover baby from stolen car – only there was no child, Ohio cops say
A man sent Cincinnati police on a chase, saying a car with an infant inside had been stolen — only there was no child in the vehicle.
Around 10 p.m. Thursday, police received a call that a 2010 Mercury Milan was stolen from a BP gas station in the 1300 block of Hopple Street. The person said that there was a 10-month-old inside the vehicle.
Police were able to find the car and its two suspects about 11 p.m., but they escaped on foot, police said.
And there was no child in the car.
According to WCPO, police said that the man who reported the stolen car “changed his story 45 minutes into their investigation,” admitting there was no child in the vehicle.
“He stated that there’s some money in the car and that’s why he told us there was a 10-month-old in the car, because he knew it would be a top priority for us if this was the case,” said Cincinnati Police Capt. Doug Snider, WCPO reported.
Police did not say how much money was in the vehicle.
Police called the false report “very, very frustrating” as it used police resources to track down a child who was actually safe with family in Middletown, north of Cincinnati, WCPO said.
Police arrested the man who reporting the car stolen and he faces charges of inducing panic and making false alarms, authorities said.
The two suspects remain at-large, police said.
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Police race to recover baby from stolen car – only there was no child, Ohio cops say."