An Illinois mother who falsely claimed her infant son was inside her stolen SUV is now facing a felony charge.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the mother of a 7-month-old boy told police she walked into the convenience store Monday and within minutes, someone jumped into her vehicle, a grey SUV, and fled with the infant inside. She reportedly said the incident happened around at around 12:46 p.m. in the 2700 block of West 71st Street.
The Chicago Tribune reports that police found the SUV around on Chicago’s West Side on Monday evening but the baby was not inside and there were no signs that a child had been in the vehicle at all. After releasing a photo of the baby, someone contacted the police, which led them to the home of a babysitter.
Chicago police said they determined that the baby had been with the babysitter the entire time.
ABC 7 reports that the mother, identified as 30-year-old Sade Owens, allegedly told police her baby was inside the vehicle in order to speed up the process of finding her stolen SUV. Owens reportedly said that “some lady” told her authorities would act faster if a child was inside the vehicle.
On Wednesday, a judge said that the frantic search had been a “complete drain of police resources” after authorities utilized helicopters and a K-9 unit while trying to find the baby.
“This is an incredibly expensive search for this child, for this baby,” the judge said, according to the Chicago Tribune. “So while we consider that no one was harmed, there is a harm to a community when police resources are misdirected — and misdirected on such a grand scale.”
Owens’ public defender said she was a full-time caregiver and a mother-of-three who lived in a homeless shelter.
Owens has been charged with a felony count of false reporting. Her bail has been set at $5,000.
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[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
