FALSE ALARM

Father Claims ‘Missing’ 3-Year-Old to Get Police to Find His Car: Cops

The father has since been charged with filing a false police report.

An Oakland father called police on Saturday to report that his car had been stolen with his 3-year-old daughter inside, prompting an Amber Alert and a frantic search for the girl. But police said Sunday that the missing child report was actually an elaborate ploy by the father to get police to find his car faster—and that the child was safely with her mother the whole time. “OPD Investigators have arrested the father of the 3 yr old for filing a false police report,” the department said in an email and Twitter post cited by the San Francisco Chronicle. “Earlier in the day the 3 yr old was w/ father, but at the time the vehicle was stolen the 3 yr old was safe w/ mother. Father lied to police in hopes police would find car quickly.” The father has since been charged with filing a false police report. Police did eventually find his car—but the carjacking suspect crashed it at the end of a police chase Saturday night.