A father who was high on narcotics mistakenly believed his 3-year-old son was lost inside a dump truck in Santa Ana Tuesday, prompting a search and his own arrest, police said.
Firefighters are seen looking for a child believed to have been in a dump truck in Santa Ana on Feb. 2, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)
The man stopped a truck driver in the 1100 block of West First Street, and said his toddler may be inside, police said Tuesday afternoon.
Police and Firefighters were called to the scene, at which point the father fled and ran five to six blocks before he was caught, Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
He was "obviously" under the influence, Bertagna said.
Authorities confirmed the man had a child and continued to search through the dump truck.
“Based on the facts that we had, we had a full out search for this 3-year-old child until we located him,” Bertagna said.
The little boy was later found at home, safe with his mother.
The father was detained for allegedly being under the influence of narcotics, and for false reporting, Bertagna said.
