Couple Lied About Baby Kidnapping To Find Missing Truck: Police

PHOENIX, AZ — A husband and wife were accused of lying to police Wednesday that their 18-month-old baby was kidnapped because they wanted them to find their pickup truck, Phoenix police said.

The kidnapping report triggered an Amber Alert statewide. The Phoenix Police Department used a helicopter and deployed extensive resources to track the baby and the truck, police said.

Stormee Wagner and James E. Wagner, whom police described as the baby's caregivers, fabricated the kidnapping to get their truck back from someone who they said took it without their permission, police said.

The Wagners have not been booked yet, pending the results of a police investigation.

Both were charged with false reporting to law enforcement agencies, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

If convicted, the Wagners face up to six months in jail, a maximum fine of $2,500 and three years of probation.

The couple told police that the baby was kidnapped and their pickup truck taken from a QuikTrip location near Third Avenue and Indian School Road on Wednesday, police said.