‘Missing’ Girl Wasn’t; Sister Faces Charges

San Diego police will file a case with the juvenile district attorney’s office against the 15-year-old sister of Christian Smith, who was reported missing Tuesday morning.

The sister later told police that she saw the 2-year-old girl being dragged by a stranger who let the child go when she confronted him.

“We will be filing against her for filing a false report,” Detective Paul Thornton said Thursday.

Thornton said both girls had been staying at an aunt’s apartment Monday night on 50th Street. The 15-year-old gave her 17-year-old boyfriend permission to take Christian from the apartment Monday night after the adults had gone to sleep. He was going to take Christian and some other children to Sea World the next day.

The boyfriend took the little girl to the apartment of his aunt, Valerie Jones, where she spent the night.

The next morning, the adults started looking for Christian and the 15-year-old sister realized that she was in trouble when Christian was reported missing to police.

She picked up the girl at Jones’ apartment on 63rd Street but did not tell Jones that the police were looking for Christian.

Thornton said Jones called him Wednesday after seeing news reports about the purported abduction and return of the little girl.

“I was on my way to speak to the family when she called,” Thornton said. “She said that the kid had spent the night in her house.”

Thornton added that the 15-year-old also said her boyfriend was wanted by the police and had refused to take Christian to the 50th Street apartment because he was afraid that he was being set up. Thornton said the 17-year-old is not wanted by the police.

“This case just gets stranger and stranger,” he said.