Woman arrested for allegedly filing false kidnapping report
A Hot Springs woman was arrested Thursday after allegedly making a false report that her daughter was kidnapped, prompting a search by more than a dozen Hot Springs police officers and detectives.
Tori Elizabeth Reynolds, 29, who lists a Hallmark Street address, was taken into custody around 4 p.m. and charged with filing a false report of criminal wrong doing, punishable by up to six years.
Reynolds remained in custody Friday in lieu of a $2,500 bond and is set to appear in Garland County District Court on April 3.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly before 3 p.m., officers responded to the parking lot of Sam’s Club, 1368 Higdon Ferry Road, in reference to a possible kidnapping.
Upon arrival, officers made contact with Tori Reynolds, also known as Tori Cochran, who told them her 3 year-old daughter was taken by an unknown Hispanic man dressed in a lime green jacket and blue jeans.
Officers looked in the area and were unable to find anyone who matched the description she provided. During the investigation, Cochran’s brother was contacted and reportedly told police Reynolds’ daughter had been with him since 7 a.m.
Cpl. Kirk Zaner said multiple officers responded to the initial call, including patrol officers and four detectives. “Any time you have a missing child, especially if there is a possible abduction involved, time is of the essence,” he said.
“We’re going to use all available resources to find the child and they’re going to stay there until the child is located,” he said. “It creates a dangerous situation because the other officers out there are short handed until the situation is resolved. You get other calls coming in and you have so many officers tied up on the search.”
He said police had just issued an alert to other agencies to have them start looking when the child was located, but potentially multiple agencies could have been involved in the search.