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Memphis Mother Charged In Connection To False AMBER ALERT

Posted at 5:48 PM, Mar 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-24 19:00:57-04

Two people have been charged after a one-year-old was falsely reported missing following a car theft Thursday afternoon.

WREG-TV in Memphis reported Elbenie Edwards, Isiah Edwards' mother, was charged with false reporting. Shaquille Wideman has been charged with theft of property.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued an AMBER ALERT Thursday afternoon for Isiah Edwards.  His mother reported he was still inside a vehicle that was stolen.

Several hours into the search, the vehicle was later found without the little boy inside.

According to the Memphis Police Department the baby was never in any danger, as he was not in the car when it was stolen.

Isiah was reportedly with relatives since Wednesday night.

A spokesperson for the TBI said a false AMBER ALERT is an extremely rare situation.

Before it can be issued, local law enforcement has to go through a detailed process of compiling information about the circumstances, so the TBI can determine if an Amber Alert is needed.

In this case, the report the TBI received from Memphis police was that the child was in the stolen car.  Once the report was determined to be false, the alert was canceled.