Woman held on suspicion of making false child abduction report

Santa Monica police Thursday detained a woman they say may be mentally ill after she allegedly made a false report that her child had been kidnapped.

The Santa Monica Police Department said it received a report of a child abduction about 3:40 p.m. in the area of 2nd Street and Santa Monica Boulevard.

The woman told police her 2-year-old daughter had been kidnapped by a man wearing a red shirt and black or blue pants. But after searching for more than an hour, police determined the kidnapping report was unfounded and detained the woman.

Police said the child was with her grandmother in Hesperia.

Authorities believe the woman may be suffering from mental illness and were holding her for further questioning. Her name was not immediately available.