An student at Monterey Heights Elementary in Lemon Grove apparently fabricated a story that sent sheriff's deputies and a law-enforcement helicopter on a fruitless chase for a would-be child abductor on Tuesday afternoon (November 12).

According to Sgt. James Blanton, the youth told school officials a man had grabbed him and attempted to drag him down the street shortly after classes had ended for the day. The boy said the incident occurred about a hundred yards from the school and that he was able to break free and run back to the school.

Deputies quickly arrived to get a description of the suspect and immediately launched a search of the neighborhood surrounding the school. Detectives from the Lemon Grove station were later dispatched to get a complete account of the incident, at which point the boy recanted and told officers he'd made up the entire story.

More from SDReader

• More stories by Dave Rice
• Claim says deputies used excessive force — Dec. 12, 2017
• Student grabbed buttocks, school sought expulsion — April 7, 2016
• Plead guilty or else we drop all charges — June 12, 2015
• Suspected bike thieves rough up schoolboy — March 19, 2014
• Scratched and Jailed — March 2, 2010