03/31/2026
St. Louis County, Mo. (March 31, 2026): On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued charges against suspect Ashley Collins, 29 years of age, of the 8900 block of New Hampshire Avenue in Affton, Missouri 63123, for Misusing “911” and Making False Report. Collins is being held on a $10,000, cash-only, no 10% bond.
On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued charges against suspect Kayla Williams, 31 years of age, of the 8900 block of New Hampshire Avenue in Affton, Missouri 63123, for Making False Report. Williams is being held on a $10,000, cash-only, no 10% bond.
Please note that charges are merely accusations, and Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The probable cause statement for Collins and Williams reads:
1. On 3/30/2026, in St. Louis County, Ashley Collins called 911 and stated that her car was stolen and a child was inside the car. She stated it was a 2020 Jeep Renegade. She described the child as a 5-year-old female wearing blue jeans and a flower power shirt.
2. An Amber Alert was issued, and significant police resources were spent on finding the stolen vehicle and missing child.
3. Police interviewed Ashley Collins, and she told police that she was a temporary guardian of the child. She stated that her, her girlfriend Kayla Williams and the child all lived together. She stated she placed the child in the backseat and went back into her apartment for a short time. Kayla Williams went outside and found that Ashley's car and the child were gone. Instead of calling 911, Ashley Collins drove Kayla Williams to work using Kayla's car. Ashley called her bank to see if they could locate her car using GPS since the bank was financing the car. She eventually called 911.
4. Police interviewed Kayla Williams and she told police that the child had been living at the apartment for a couple weeks. She stated that when she went into the parking lot, she realized that Ashley's car and the child were missing.
5. Police were able to locate the stolen vehicle about a mile away from the apartment. An extensive search was conducted to locate the missing child using helicopter surveillance, drone surveillance and K9 search teams.
6. About 5 hours later after the initial 911 call, both, Ashley Collins and Kayla Williams confessed that the car had been stolen but they fabricated that there was a missing child.
7. Both defendants are a danger to the community based on the above facts. Based on both defendant's lies, the entire St. Louis area was looking for the vehicle and child which could have led to a violent confrontation.
St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives are handling this investigation.
