'She's Not My Mom': Car Sign Stirs Panic; Kid Thought It Was Fun

SACRAMENTO, CA — A child's back-seat stunt recently sparked a huge police response near Sacramento, and authorities aren't laughing one bit.

At around 5 p.m. Saturday, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) received a call that a young girl in the back seat of a vehicle on State Route 99 just south of Sacramento, California, was holding up a piece of paper with the following words:

"Help me. She's not my mom!! Help!!"

Assuming that the child was in serious danger, several units responded to the alert, according to CHP's official Facebook page. Among the CHP units to answer the call were two motor officers and a K-9 squad.

Officers pulled the car over but quickly arrived at an unexpected outcome.

"The driver was contacted, and it was determined that the juvenile had made it all up and thought it was a fun thing to do," CHP said in a Facebook post about the incident.

The mother, who was driving, was completely unaware of what her daughter was doing.

The officers determined that no foul play was involved and allowed the vehicle to leave, although they did point to the situation as a cautionary tale for parents to remain aware of what their children are doing in the back seat.

"This is a reminder that parents need to be aware of what their children are doing in the back seat at all times," the highway patrol said on social media. "Six CHP units were assigned to this call instead of responding to legitimate calls or patrolling their beats because of this hoax."

The CHP's Facebook post on the incident has been shared over 2,800 times.