Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Foul Play Suspected in Woman’s Disappearance : Val Verde: Detectives say the back door was unlocked on the last of five homes the real estate agent showed a client.

A real estate agent’s disappearance has a small Santa Clarita Valley town in turmoil.

Dozens of her Val Verde neighbors joined Thursday with sheriff’s search-and-rescue parties to look for Paula Harrington, 26, who vanished a day earlier. By late afternoon they abruptly suspended their search and announced that a man taken into custody earlier had been cleared and released.

But detectives said they believe foul play was involved in the disappearance after they discovered the back door unlocked on the last of five homes the woman showed to a prospective client.

They also discovered that the license plates of the Jeep Cherokee the client drove were stolen from a car in Pismo Beach.

“Because of those and other things we can’t go into, we’re confident there was foul play,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Spear.

Harrington also was seen by a bank security camera making an ATM withdrawal of $300 from a Bank of America branch in Hacienda Heights Wednesday night, said Lt. Donald Bear, a sheriff’s homicide detective. Family members identified Harrington from a photo taken by the bank camera that showed only her head and shoulders.

“There’s not anyone obviously beside her or behind her,” Bear said. “There weren’t any obvious signs of her being stressed out.”

Bear said four detectives are working on the case.

Family members told investigators Harrington would not run off.

“At least we know she’s a hostage as opposed to being hurt or worse,” said the woman’s husband, Chris Harrington. “There’s no doubt in my mind she didn’t run away. Our marriage is fine and she wouldn’t leave her family to stress like this.”

Harrington disappeared after leaving her office Wednesday afternoon with an unidentified man who asked to see vacant, remote houses in the unincorporated community of 1,500 off California 126 about five miles northwest of Magic Mountain amusement park.

DeAnne Tippetts, owner of Century 21 Country Realtors, said she grew suspicious when they hadn’t returned after about 2 1/2 hours.

“It was just kind of an uneasy feeling,” she said. “The more I thought about it--how he wanted to see vacant homes in remote areas--it started bothering me. That and the fact that he insisted they use his car.”

A search began later, using ground teams and helicopters to scour the surrounding hills. “Everybody knows everybody out here,” said Kimberly Pepin, who volunteered for the search effort. “They’re very generous people.”

Ventura County deputies found a Jeep Cherokee in Fillmore that matched the description of the vehicle Harrington was seen leaving the office in. The owner of the vehicle was detained by police while two witnesses were brought to the motel parking lot and identified him as the man who had accompanied the missing real estate agent.

The identification turned out to be wrong and the man was released when it was determined he was attending a business meeting in Agoura on Wednesday afternoon, Bear said.

Detectives discovered later that the plates of the suspect’s car were stolen, though they are not sure when. The man being sought by police is described as a white male of medium build in his 40s with thinning brown hair.

The missing woman is 5 feet, 3 inches tall, 120 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a teal blouse and a jungle-print skirt, and may have been wearing glasses, deputies said.