California

Vallejo Abduction Was “Wild Goose Chase,” Family Have Disappeared: Police

The woman's aunt says she went to her parents' homes in Huntington Beach, but both her mother and father are in Vallejo looking for her

The investigation into the reported kidnapping-for-ransom of a woman found Wednesday in Southern California was a "wild goose chase", Vallejo police said.

The purported victim Denise Huskins and her whole family disappeared a day after she turned up safe in Southern California, despite the FBI arranging for a jet to fly them back to the Northern California city, police said.

Huskins, 29, was reportedly abducted Monday morning from a Vallejo, California, home. She was reported to be kidnapped by her boyfriend but was found safe Wednesday morning in Huntington Beach, her family and police told NBC4.

If Huskins or her boyfriend committed any criminal act in the false story, Vallejo police will seek federal charges, said Lt. Kenny Park, of the Vallejo Police Department.

"(The search is) what I would classify as a wild-goose chase," Park said, "(It) was such an incredible story, we initially had a hard time believing it. As of right now, we have not heard from Ms. Huskins and we are no longer in contact with any of the family members."

Huskins and her family had made plans to speak with authorities but has since disappeared, Vallejo police said in a news release.

Police said there was some indication that she would be cooperative and speak with investigators but when the FBI arranged for the jet to bring her to Northern California for an interview, she was nowhere to be found.

Huskins has since retained an attorney and detectives do not know where she is.

Her uncle Jeff Kane told NBC4 that the claims made by police are "absolute c***."

"I imagine maybe she's seen enough of Vallejo to be quite honest with you," Kane added.

Since the investigation was launched on Monday, 40 detectives and over 100 personnel have been searching for and investigating Huskins' disappearance, which they said they didn't believe was a random act of violence.

"Today, there is no evidence to support the claims that this was a stranger abduction or an abduction at all," Vallejo police said in a news release. "Given the facts that have been presented thus far, this event appears to be an orchestrated event and not a kidnapping."

Huskins' boyfriend claimed an intruder broke into his home early Monday morning and took her by force while demanding a ransom. But her boyfriend waited 11 hours to report it to police, officials said.

On Wednesday morning, the woman went to her mother’s house in Huntington Beach, but her mother wasn't home because she went to Vallejo to look for her daughter, Huskins' aunt said.

She then walked to her father’s home, also in Huntington Beach, but he is also in Vallejo. Huskins called her father from a neighbor's residence.

Relatives and friends hugged and cried outside the apartment building in Huntington Beach, relieved she was OK.

"Excitement, overwhelmed ... I didn't know anything that was going to happen. You hear these stories all the time and you watch TV about them and you never know," cousin Natalia Kane said. "I just was happy to hear that she was alive and safe, and home."

Huskins spoke with officers before they drove her in a car to be reunited with family in a more private place.

Additional details were not available, and it was not clear how she got to Huntington Beach.

"I wish I could tell you that it was party time jubilation and all that, but it was just relief more than anything," her uncle, Jeff Kane, said.

Police on Tuesday did not elaborate on what the ransom demand might be.

Huskins is from Huntington Beach, and according to her Facebook page moved to Vallejo in June 2014. She is a physical therapist at Kaiser Permanente.

Hetty Chang, Jason Kandel, Jodi Hernandez and Michael Larkin contributed to this report.

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