MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Emergency crews went into panic mode Saturday when they got a call for a 3-year-old child locked in a parked car, as temperatures soared into the upper 90s in Shelby County, Tennessee.
"We pulled a number of resources off of the streets to respond to this cry for help that a child had been locked in the car in 90 degree weather," said Shelby County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Earle Farrell.
Deputies said an urgent emergency response went out, meaning law enforcement disregarded other service calls, and getting that child out of the car became their top priority.
It was just after 3:15 Saturday afternoon when authorities pulled up to the home, the Shelby County Fire Department was the first unit on the scene.
They quickly found that no one was locked in the car. Deputies believe Skylar Johnson-Settles made it all up to get her keys out of her locked car, because she was in a hurry.
Deputies took Johnson-Settles into custody on charges of misusing 911 and false reporting, which is a felony.
She has no address listed on court documents.
Deputies said bogus calls are not just wasted time for authorities, but might also keep someone else from getting desperately-needed help.
"What if there was someone else that was really having a health problem?" Farrell said,
Johnson-Settles made her first appearance in court on Monday.