Crime & Safety
4-Year-Old Kidnapped From Santa Monica Restaurant: Police
Over 30 officers and civilian personnel swarmed the city Friday afternoon after the girl's grandmother called police.
![A 4-year-old girl was kidnapped from a Santa Monica restaurant Friday afternoon, according to police.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/26494162/20240712/080155/styles/patch_image/public/patch-sm-1___12200040602.jpg)
SANTA MONICA, CA — A swarm of over 30 police officers and civilian personnel successfully found a 4-year-old girl who had been kidnapped from a restaurant Friday afternoon after finding her — and the woman suspected of abducting her — in a motel room, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
The girl's grandmother called police just after noon to report that the 4-year-old had been kidnapped from a restaurant near Lincoln and Pico boulevards.
"The first officers were on the scene within minutes of the call being dispatched, gathering video images of the probable kidnapper and child to send to additional units who were on their way," police said. "All available field resources, including more than 30 sworn and civilian personnel flooded the area."
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Authorities searched for the suspect, described as a heavyset woman in her 30s. About 35 minutes after the grandmother called police, officers found the suspect and the abducted child in a room at the Holiday Motel at 11th Street and Pico Boulevard, police said.
The child was unharmed and the woman was taken into custody. Police planed to book her into the Santa Monica Jail on kidnapping charges, according to SMPD.
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The woman's name and booking photos will be released by Saturday afternoon, police said.
Police said they believe the woman had been living at the motel for an extended period of time.
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