Report of Kidnaping Unfounded, Police Say

A Newhall woman who was reported kidnaped actually went away voluntarily with her boyfriend after arguing with her mother, who investigators said may have made up the kidnap report because she disapproved of the relationship, authorities said Wednesday.

Marixa Sandoval Mendez, 20, and her boyfriend, Nery Oswaldo Lopez, 26, of Newhall, showed up at the Santa Clarita sheriff’s station about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday after Lopez saw the couple’s photos on a television report of the alleged kidnaping, Lt. Harvey Cantor said.

Investigators who interviewed the couple determined no crime had occurred, he said.

Mendez’s mother, Theresa Mendez, 46, told authorities her daughter was walking on a Newhall street Monday when Lopez pulled alongside in a car and forced her inside. In fact, the couple was riding in the car together when they stopped to talk to the mother, who was walking on the street, Cantor said. The mother unsuccessfully tried to force her daughter out of the car, and the daughter told Lopez to drive off, Cantor said.

The two drove to Los Angeles, where they stayed at a friend’s house, he said.

Cantor said the two have been dating for at least a month.

“We had no reason to believe it wasn’t as reported, and we had to do everything we could to ensure the safety of the victim and apprehend the suspect,” Cantor said.