A 21-YEAR-OLD woman faces possible arrest and criminal prosecution for allegedly making a false report of a kidnapping attempt in Garden Grove on Wednesday (Shutterstock).

The reported attempted kidnapping in West Garden Grove on Wednesday never happened, police now believe.

According to Lt. Carl Whitney of the Garden Grove Police Department, the 21-year-old woman making the report has admitted to making up the story of her using pepper spray to escape from three men in a van she said were trying to abduct her.

GGPD detectives viewing surveillance video and holding interviews – including with the three men she said were trying to kidnap her – decided that her story was false.

“After careful review of surveillance video and conducting more interviews, detectives determined the crime did not happen,” according to Lt. Whitney. “Detectives confronted the victim with the investigation findings, and she admitted she fabricated the story.”

The incident was supposed to have occurred on Bixby Avenue west of Brookhurst Street around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The woman claimed that while walking along Bixby she was followed by a van. She supposedly grabbed a canister of pepper spray and used it to fend off a man who – she claimed – tried to pull her into the van.

Making a false report of a crime is itself a crime, and the case has been referred to the Orange County District Attorney’s office for possible prosecution.

The name of the woman is not being released at this time.