Man, 29, Arrested In Connection With NW Oklahoma City Amber Alert

A 29-year-old man faces multiple charges after a stolen vehicle incident in northwest Oklahoma City on Wednesday turned into an Amber Alert.

Ryan Winkler, 29, was arrested at about 7 a.m. Thursday. He is the primary suspect in an incident from the day before in which a 2019 Infiniti QX30 was stolen from the 4900 block of North Harvey Parkway with a 2-year-old boy inside of it. Initially, a kidnapping alert was issued, and then an Amber Alert followed.

Both the vehicle and the boy were found soon after. The boy was safe, police confirmed.

"A couple hours later, someone called in and indicated they had spotted the vehicle in south Oklahoma City. This was near SW 77th and Douglas. When officers arrived on the scene, they found the vehicle. They found the child still in vehicle, unharmed," said Oklahoma City Police MSgt. Gary Knight. 

According to police, the mother of the child left her car running so that she could chase down a loose dog. That's when, police said, Winkler allegedly got in the car and drove away.

Winkler has being booked on the following charges: kidnapping, child neglect, and larceny of an automobile.

Neighbors shared their reaction to the incident, noting that it's not something that usually happens in the area.

"I was pretty distraught about it considering this is a pretty safe area," said Nicole Carlson, who is also an employee of Griffin Media, parent company of News 9. "It's not something anyone should have to think about or worry about, so I'm sure we're all going to be keeping an extra eye out for anything."

"It's the last thing you ever want to hear, a child being in trouble," she said.

Knight said that the incident did not appear to be a targeted kidnapping.

"For all we know, the person was looking to steal a car and did not even know there was a child in it," he said.