Police say father of 'missing' Oakland 3-year-old filed false report to find stolen car faster

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Police arrested the father of an Oakland toddler who was falsely reported missing Saturday night.

An AMBER ALERT was issued for the 3-year-old girl when her dad allegedly told police his car was stolen with her inside on the rear passenger seat around 8:10 p.m.

It was originally reported that the child was taken by an "unknown suspect" from Oakland, in a 2005 Silver Mercedes Benz S430 sedan near 58th Avenue and International Blvd.

The girl was reported safe by police at 1:51 a.m. Sunday. Ten hours later, police reported she was actually safe with her mother at the time the car was stolen.

The father is accused of filing a false police report, claiming that the girl was in the stolen car. Oakland PD says he "lied to police in hopes police would find car quickly."