Report of Girl’s Abduction Is Questioned

SANTA ANA — A day after landscapers reported seeing a young girl scream as she was forced into a car, no one had come forward to report a child missing, leading authorities to question if the gardeners misunderstood what they saw.

The incident was initially cast as an abduction near a Mission Viejo school playground. There were frantic head counts at public and private schools Wednesday, and parents phoning to check on their children.

But with no one claiming a missing child, Orange County investigators speculated that the struggle witnessed by the gardeners may have been due to an argument or a domestic dispute among friends or relatives.

“It’s been real frustrating,” said Lt. Ron Wilkerson, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “Right now we are leaning toward some other scenario, although we have not ruled kidnapping out as a possibility.”

The suspected abduction was riveting news in Orange County on Wednesday, along with a report of a 17-year-old girl who told Fountain Valley police that she was kidnapped, fondled and robbed at knifepoint before the assailant let her go. The girl gave a detailed description of the assailant--including that a piece of his right ear was missing--and recalled a yellow air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.

On Thursday, Fountain Valley police officials reported that the teenager’s story was “unfounded,” although they stopped short of saying the young woman fabricated the allegations.

In Mission Viego, the search for a blond schoolgirl began Wednesday when two gardeners said they heard a young girl cry for help shortly after 8 a.m. and struggle to free herself.

One gardener said two men forced the girl, who appeared to be between 8 and 10, into a champagne-colored Cadillac that then sped away. The car was described as a newer model with a white roof and tinted windows, with a frame around the license plate that mentioned Long Beach.

The second and third characters in the license plate were believed to be “BL,” witnesses reported.

Wilkerson said the department asked law enforcement officials in Riverside, Los Angeles and San Diego counties to be on the lookout for a child fitting the description of the young schoolgirl or a man matching a composite sketch of the Cadillac’s driver.

Because authorities have no identification on the girl, the search is focusing on the car, Wilkerson said.

“If we can find the vehicle then we can bring a resolution to this and hopefully people will be able to breathe easier,” he said.

Authorities said the main reason they are growing skeptical is because no one has reported a missing girl, who was said to be wearing a pink dress and toting a backpack.

“I think most parents have a good level of awareness on where their child is,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Rich Paddock. “We just don’t have a sense that a kidnapping has occurred here.”

Still, the lack of closure in the case continued to worry some Mission Viejo parents.

“I really hope that it was just a big mistake,” said Donna Telly, who has an 8-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. “I know that all the neighbors will all be watching out even more.”