Phoenix Police: Baby kidnapping fabricated for faster police response; suspects identified
Published
Police identifies couple who made up baby kidnapping story
Investigators say the couple made up the kidnapping in an effort to get faster police response on a case involving an allegedly stolen truck.
PHOENIX - Phoenix Police officials announced on the night of May 12 that there was no child who was inside a truck that was allegedly stolen earlier in the day, despite previous reports.
The incident began, according to earlier reports by investigations, along Indian School Road west of Central Avenue.
Initially, Sgt. Mercedes Fortune with Phoenix Police said the caregivers of the child, along with a couple, went into a convenience store in the area, and at some point, the couple went back to the truck, and drove the vehicle away, with the child inside.
Police: Couple fabricated story of infant in stolen pickup
May 13, 2021
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1of3This undated photo provided by Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff s Office shows James E. Wagner. Wagner and his wife Stormee Wagner, whose pickup truck was stolen, fabricated a story about a baby being in the vehicle because they wanted police to respond rapidly to the reported theft, a Police Department spokeswoman said. They were both were arrested Wednesday, May 12, 2021 after investigators became suspicious and determined that there was no infant in the truck taken by a man and a woman whom the couple had just met, Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said Thursday. (Maricopa County Sheriff s Office via AP)APShow MoreShow Less