Man falsely reported that child was inside stolen truck, Phoenix police say

PHOENIX — Two people were in custody Friday morning after a woman allegedly stole a truck in Phoenix and the vehicle’s owner falsely reported that his son was inside, authorities said.

It turns out that there was no child involved, the Phoenix Police Department said.

“A continued investigation into false reporting is being done with the father as the main suspect,” Sgt. Brian Bower told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “There’s also the secondary investigation of the stolen vehicle with the adult female also in custody.

“So we have two different situations that kind of expanded from one incident.”

What did the man tell police about the truck theft?

Officers first contacted the man around 6:30 a.m. at Van Buren and Seventh streets, police said. He said a woman stole his truck from a convenience store near Buckeye Road and Seventh Street after he gave her a ride.

The man first said that his 11-year-old son was in the truck when it was taken, Bower said. Later information indicated the boy was 12.

After following up on leads, police found the truck and the woman near 43rd Avenue and Buckeye Road. No child was present.

Where was the boy when the truck was stolen?

“While the investigation continued, officers were still looking for the child,” Bower said. “It was learned that the child was actually 18 years old, was never with the father.”

Police confirmed that the teen was with family members when the truck was stolen.

Bower couldn’t say why the man lied about the details of the incident.

“I don’t want to speculate on why people do what they do,” Bower said. “There’s all different types of reasons for it, but the great news is there was … no risk to any child and everything was able to be played out properly.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Taylor Kinnerup contributed to this report.

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