An alleged kidnap attempt near a school in Lemon Grove Tuesday was fabricated and didn't actually happen, according to officials from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
At around 3 p.m., deputies were called to Monterey Heights Elementary School located at 7550 Canton Dr. to investigate a report of a possible attempted kidnapping near the campus.
Jan Caldwell, of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, said deputies received a call about an unknown man allegedly attempting to grab and kidnap a 9-year-old boy near the school.
The incident was reported just as students were being released from school for the day.
Caldwell confirmed the child was safe and was being supervised by the school principal. As of 3:45 p.m., deputies were still scouring the area in search of the suspect. The department’s ASTREA helicopter also assisted in the search by air. At that point, the suspect description was still vague, according to officials.
By 4:40 p.m., Caldwell confirmed the incident was a false alarm and that the child had made up the story.
Deputies said the boy had been having problems at home and ditched school toward the end of the day. School staff realized he was missing and started searching for the boy.
Minutes later, deputies said the boy returned to the school and told a staff member a story about a man supposedly grabbing him by the arm and dragging him towards a car approximately 100 yards away from the campus.
The student told the staffer that he was able to free himself from the suspect’s grasp and run back to the school, officials said.
As deputies searched for the suspect, detectives interviewed the boy. The child ultimately admitted he had made up a false story, and told detectives no one had attempted to abduct him, officials said.
