A grandmother’s horrifying ordeal began on Friday when her 4-year-old granddaughter was abducted from a Santa Monica restaurant.
Thankfully, the child was found securely and the culprit was located in less than half an hour.
The event happened inside a Panda Express restaurant located on the 1900 block of Lincoln Boulevard on Friday just after noon. A woman called police in a panic at 12:11 p.m., claiming her 4-year-old granddaughter had been taken.
Witnesses said that once the woman went to pay for her dinner, the suspect somehow persuaded the young child to accompany her outside. The girl vanished from the grandmother’s view as soon as they started walking up Pico Boulevard.
After a minute of receiving the call, police arrived and gathered surveillance footage of the incident and the woman in her 30s who was suspected of being the kidnapper.
“There were at least 30 of our department personnel out searching for her,” Santa Monica police Lt. Erika Aklufi stated. “That includes our officers, civilian personnel, our public services officers. We had a drone. We had a K9 out. Literally any available person was out looking for her.”
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Officers discovered the woman in a room at the Holiday Motel near the intersection of 11th Street and Pico Boulevard around 12:37 p.m. The motel manager had seen the photos and recognized the suspect as someone who had resided there.
After placing the culprit under arrest, they gave the unhurt youngster back to her family. It was anticipated that the unidentified suspect will be charged with kidnapping.
“Our heartfelt best wishes go out to the child and her family as they deal with the shock of this ordeal,” a Santa Monica police statement stated. “We will do everything we can to make sure they are helped through this time and to make sure no stone is left unturned in the investigation.”
