Police: Apparent Riverside abduction found to be drunken incident, not crime

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Video of what appeared to be a young woman being abducted has turned out to be an alcohol-related incident and not a crime, Riverside police say.

The video showed what appeared to be two men initially forcing a young girl in a bathing suit to get in the trunk of a car Sunday night on Doolittle Avenue near Van Buren Boulevard. There is a struggle and then they appear to force her into the back seat.

But police say they have managed to track down the individuals shown in the video and have determined the incident was not what it appeared.

They say the young woman had been drinking with her boyfriend and his family while they were swimming in the Santa Ana River. The group was driving home and stopped to get an item out of the trunk.

At the time the intoxicated young woman, who lives in Placentia, became belligerent and tried to climb into the trunk, police say. Two of the men with her grabbed her and put her back in the car so they could continue driving home.

Police thanked the community for reporting the incident.

"The Riverside Police Department is grateful to the members of the community, who believed they had just witnessed an abduction, for reporting the incident and assisting in the investigation," the Riverside Police Department said. "Fortunately, the young woman involved was unharmed and Detectives were able to confirm that no crime occurred."