Documents: Woman arrested for falsely reporting child missing to find friend's vehicle sooner

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A 19-year-old woman was arrested for falsely reporting a missing child so police would find her friend's stolen vehicle sooner, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.

Stacie Dashay Marie Smith was arrested on Sunday, June 30 and booked into the El Paso County Detention Center under a $5,000 bond.

On June 30, El Paso police officers were dispatched to 14276 Lasso Rock Dr. for a report of a stolen vehicle, according to court documents.

A second report was placed by Smith at the same address for a stolen vehicle and stated that her 1-year-old child was supposed to be in the vehicle, according to court documents.

Officers arrived at the scene and obtained the name and photo of Smith's child, according to court documents. Smith only provided officers with one photo of her child, with the baby's birth date listed as Nov. 23, 2023.

Police were able to locate the stolen vehicle, but the child was not there, according to court documents.

The El Paso Police Department's Crimes Against Persons Unit was called to assist with the missing child investigation and informed Smith that her child was not in the vehicle, according to court documents.

Smith admitted to lying to police and saying her child did not exist, court documents say.

The baby photo Smith provided to police was of her friend's child, not her own.

Smith told police she had just started living with her friend and when the vehicle was stolen, the friend told her to report a missing child so police could find the vehicle sooner.

According to court documents, Smith said “she felt like she had to help her friend,” so she lied about having a child and that the child was missing to help recover her friend's vehicle.