SANTA MONICA—On Friday, July 12, Breanna Taylor Shields, 31 was booked into jail by officers from the Santa Monica Police Department on charges of felony kidnapping of a four-year-old girl.

According to reports, on July 12, at approximately 12:10 p.m., the little girl and her grandmother were eating together at a Panda Express in a strip mall located near the intersection of Lincoln and Pico Boulevard when the grandmother reported that her granddaughter was missing.

Police were called immediately. Video surveillance was used to identify the person they believed to have the child. Police sent out an All-Points Bulletin (APB) garnering assistance from numerous police units and civilians alike. The suspect was initially described as a heavy-set white female.

At 12:37 p.m., the suspect was tracked down to a room at the Holiday Motel located at 1102 Pico Boulevard (Near 11th Street) in Santa Monica. The child was found with the suspect in the motel room. She was physically unharmed, and the suspect was taken into custody. The following came directly from a press release issued by the Santa Monica Police Department. The full text may be found on the SMPD website:

“Our heartfelt best wishes go out to the child and her family as they deal with the shock of this ordeal. We will do everything we can to make sure they are helped through this time and also to make sure no stone is left unturned in the investigation….”

On July 12, at 8:30 p.m., SMPD gave the following update regarding the arrest and charges of Breanna Taylor Shields, DOB 1/23/93.

“Shields was booked for kidnapping (207 PC) and is eligible for a sentencing enhancement (208 PC). The penal code sections are below.

207 PC (a) Every person who forcibly, or by any other means of instilling fear, steals or takes, or holds, detains, or arrests any person in the state, and carries the person into another country, state, or county, or into another part of the same county is guilty of kidnapping.

208 PC (a) Kidnapping is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.

(b) If the person kidnapped is under 14 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime, the kidnapping is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 5, 8, or 11 years.”


According to Child Find of America, an estimated 2,300 children go missing every day.