Kidnapped Woman Admits Hoax After Rescue By OC City Workers

SANTA ANA, CA - A woman was found bound and gagged inside an empty Santa Ana home, but her kidnapping was ruled a hoax by investigators, police reported.

City maintenance workers found the woman Tuesday afternoon when they discovered a padlock on the door of a City of Santa Ana owned building, Santa Ana police said. Knowing the lock should not be here, the workers entered the vacant structure on the 300 block of E. Warner Ave., Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

When they stepped inside the door, they heard someone moaning inside. According to Bertagna, the workers followed the sound and found a woman in a bedroom, bound and gagged.

Though the woman told officials she had been kidnapped earlier that day, police investigators determined that "she made the story up."

The woman was "squatting" inside the empty house and did not want to be arrested, Bertagna said.

Questions remained on how she bound and gagged herself, or if she had an accomplice. She was not injured, and the investigation is ongoing as to whether any criminal activity that may have taken place inside the Warner address.