Police say a 4-year-old girl was suspected of being abducted from a restaurant in California by a woman believed to be homeless.
According to Santa Monica Police, a grandmother who was having lunch with her 4-year-old granddaughter at a Panda Express restaurant called police in a “panic-stricken” state at 12:11 p.m. local time.
Authorities said police arrived on the scene “within minutes” and began a frantic search for the missing child.
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One woman said her 4-year-old granddaughter was kidnapped while eating at a Panda Express. (Universal Images Group/Getty)
Authorities quickly gathered video footage of the suspect and began sending additional forces around the restaurant.
Police said more than 30 officers were searching for the suspect.
Video footage showed the suspect to be a heavyset white woman in her 30s.
People strolling and shopping on a pedestrian-only street in downtown Santa Monica. (iStock)
At 12:37 p.m., officers found the suspect and a 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 they had “exhausted every avenue” in their investigation.
“Our hearts go out to the girl and her family as they deal with the shock of this ordeal,” police said. “We will do everything we can to help them get through this period and will exhaust all resources in our investigation.”
Authorities did not immediately release the suspect’s name but said she was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping.
A 73-year-old woman was assaulted by a homeless man in May. (Morgan Lieberman/Getty Images)
The alleged kidnapping comes after a 73-year-old woman was assaulted by a homeless man in May.
Police said the woman was on her daily morning walk when she tried to move out of the way to let the man pass, but “he intentionally pushed her to the ground,” leaving her with an injured back and cuts to her hands.
About a week earlier, a homeless man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape a woman while she was jogging.
Santa Monica residents said the city “is not the same.” (Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)
One Santa Monica resident said the city was once a sleepy coastal town, but “it’s not the same anymore.”
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“We all know Santa Monica isn’t what it was three or four years ago,” one resident told FOX 11. “Every day there’s something new happening.”
