A 4-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped from a California restaurant by a suspected homeless woman, police said.
The Santa Monica Police Department said a “frantic” grandmother called police at 12:11 p.m. local time when she and her 4-year-old granddaughter were having lunch at a Panda Express restaurant.
Police were on the scene “within minutes” desperately searching for the disappeared child, authorities said.
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Authorities quickly gathered video images of potential suspects and began sending additional units to the general area of the restaurant.
Police said there were more than 30 law enforcement officers searching for the suspect.
Video footage revealed that the suspect was a heavyset white female in her 30s.
At 12:37 p.m., officers located the suspect and child in a room at the Holiday Motel.
“Thankfully, the child was unharmed, and the suspect was taken into custody,” police said.
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Police said “no stone was left unturned” in their investigation.
“Our heartfelt best wishes go out to the child and her family as they deal with the shock of this ordeal,” police said. “We will do everything we can to make sure they are helped through this time and also to make sure no stone is left unturned in the investigation.”
Authorities, who did not immediately release the name of the suspect, said she was booked on suspicion of kidnapping.
The alleged abduction comes after a 73-year-old woman was assaulted by a homeless man in May.
The woman said she was on her daily morning walk and tried to get out of his way so he could pass, but “he intentionally pushed her to the ground,” resulting in a back injury and cuts on her hands, police said.
About a week beforehand, a homeless man was arrested for the attempted rape of a female jogger.
One Santa Monica resident said that the once-idyllic coastal town is “not what it was.”
“Everybody knows that Santa Monica is not what it was three or four years ago,” one resident told FOX 11. “Every day is something new.”
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