A South Florida woman who claimed her 3-year-old grandson was inside a car when it was stolen from a southwest Miami-Dade gas station lied about the child being in the vehicle because she hoped police would find her car faster, police said.
The grandmother, Antoinette Rowan, was arrested for filing a false police report Monday, after the child was never in the car before it was stolen from the Sunoco gas station on Southwest 112th Avenue Sunday night, Miami-Dade police confirmed. Surveillance footage from the gas station showed the car driving off as the grandmother chased after it on foot.
Sources said the grandmother called 911 saying the man drove off with her child in the car. While the car was stolen, the child was never present or in danger.
Rowan told police the incident began when the pair first met online for some type of vehicle transaction. She picked the stranger up at his home and they first went to Walmart before going to the gas station, police said.
Officials said officers began searching the area and later were notified by one of the grandmother's older children that the 3-year-old had been dropped off outside of their home unharmed.
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Investigators are still looking for the car theft suspect and the vehicle, a black 2014 Hyundai with Florida tag number Z59FLZ.
