CINCINNATI — Cincinnati police, who were told a car was stolen with an infant still inside, now say that a child was never in danger and that the person who reported the car stolen lied to get a quicker response from police.
Just before 10 p.m. Thursday evening, a 2010 Mercury Milan was reported stolen from a BP gas station in the 1300 block of Hopple Street with a 10-month-old infant still inside.
Police caught up with two suspects in the car shortly before 11 p.m., and the suspects fled the vehicle about five miles away from where it was reported stolen.
Officers did not find a child inside the vehicle, and the suspects evaded capture, police said.
Cincinnati police said the person who reported the car stolen changed his story about 45 minutes into their investigation, saying the infant was not in the car when it was stolen.
"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," Cincinnati Police Capt. Doug Snider said.
Officers confirmed with a family member that the child was safe with family in nearby Middletown, Ohio during the entire incident.
Police said the person who reported the missing infant has been arrested and will be charged with inducing panic and making false alarms.
Snider called the man's false report "very, very frustrating," as it prompted the use of police resources to locate someone who was never in danger.
Cincinnati police released a picture of the suspect taken from the gas station's security cameras:
As of midnight ET, the suspects were still at large.
This story was originally published by Tyson Thorp on WCPO in Cincinnati.