Illinois – An Illinois woman is behind bars and later charged with filing a false report to police after investigators determined her child was never missing and the 37-year-old mother, Princes, had intentionally hidden her daughter. According to the police officials, the exact motive for the mother’s false report is unknown, but authorities believe that it could have been because she thought police would take her stolen car report more seriously if there was a missing child inside. After authorities issued a warrant for her arrest, she reportedly traveled to Wisconsin, where she was arrested and is now awaiting extradition back to Illinois.

This incident occurred last month after the mother called 911 and told the dispatcher that she left her vehicle running on the driveway in front of the house before someone stole it. The woman also told the dispatcher that her 4-year-old child was inside the vehicle. Moments later, authorities launched an investigation and the Illinois State Police sent out a statewide Amber Alert.

Just hours after the 911 call, officers found the stolen vehicle. But, the child was still missing. During the investigation process, authorities learned that the ‘missing child’ was inside the room after reviewing camera footage from the responding officers. During an interview with investigators, the woman reportedly told her children to call the child by a different name. 

After the responding officers left the scene, the woman reportedly took her 4-year-old child to a nearby alley where she was found by people who were searching for her. Shortly after, the mother left the home with her 7 children. After authorities issued a warrant for her arrest, she reportedly traveled to Wisconsin, where she was arrested and is now awaiting extradition back to Illinois.

Authorities released a statement, saying that the exact motive for the mother’s actions is still unknown, but they suspect that it could have been because the woman believed investigators would take the stolen car report more seriously if there was a missing child inside. This incident remains under investigation.