Police: Florida woman made up story about children's abduction

The children were safe in Houston the whole time

LIVE OAK, Fla. – A Florida woman whose outlandish story about her children's abduction spawned a statewide search made the whole thing up, according to a report from Houston's KPRC-TV.

An Amber Alert was issued Thursday for the 7-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl after their mother said they were kidnapped in Live Oak by men who threatened to hurt them if she went to the police.

But, as it turns out, none of that was true.

In reality, Roseangel Sanchez had been arrested on suspicion of passing fraudulent checks, WCJB-TV reported. Police told the television station she lied about her children in the hopes of avoiding jail time.

In fact, Sanchez's children were in Houston, where they live with their grandparents, the whole time. As KPRC noted, police went to the children's school and confirmed they were present all morning.

Sanchez, 24, reportedly confessed to fabricating the story. She's in custody at the Suwannee County jail, where she faces several charges, including filing a false police report.