Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 22
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California authorities are investigating whether a "mom influencer" made a false report when she accused a couple of attempting to kidnap her two young children.
The Petaluma Police Department said Thursday there is no evidence to support that a crime occurred.
In a news conference Friday, the accused couple, identified as Sadie and Eddie Martinez, said they headed to a Michaels craft store earlier this month to purchase Nativity scene decorations for their Christmas display, the Argus-Courier reported.
The woman who made the complaint was identified in media reports as Katie Sorensen, a White woman who regularly posts on social media about her children. Police said she reported that she was followed by a couple as she pushed her children in a stroller through a parking lot outside the store.
She said the pair made comments about the appearance of the children and lingered near her vehicle as she placed them inside. At the time, Sorensen said she didn't want anyone arrested, but instead wanted to draw attention to the couple's behavior, police said.
In a video posted to social media a week later (it has since been deleted), she "included information that had not been initially presented" to authorities, police said. Sorensen said the couple discussed the "features" of the children and one of them tried to grab her stroller. She also posted that a male followed her around inside the store, KTVU-TV reported.
"I saw these people, they didn't look necessarily clean-cut," she told the station. "I felt uncomfortable around them, and instead of making them uncomfortable with my discomfort, I chose to remain in my discomfort."
The incident went viral and boosted the number of Sorensen's followers on Instagram to 80,000, according to media reports. Police said Sorensen was adamant that the couple approached her children's stroller and that she wanted them prosecuted, despite her earlier calls not to do so.
The couple contacted police after authorities released a photo of them in the store. They denied the allegations.
Petaluma police released a photo of the couple inside the store. The department is investigating whether a "mom influencer" falsely reported that a couple tried to kidnap her two young children. (Petaluma Police Department )
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Police said they agreed to be interviewed by investigators and have "fully cooperated" with the investigation.
"To date, the investigation has produced no evidence or witnesses corroborating the account provided by the reporting party," police said in a Dec. 17 news release. "Evidence gathered has served to support the account provided by the couple from the store."
While speaking to reporters, the couple said they believe the accusations against them were racially motivated.
"I couldn’t believe it. It’s like we’re literally guilty of being brown while shopping," Sadie Martinez said Friday. "One of my kids wanted to go there to buy stuff to make hot chocolate balls and I just don’t feel comfortable. I feel like I have a target on my back, now that our image is out on the internet. Who’s to say some crazy person is not gonna come for us?"
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